On our vacation last week, Kris and I stayed at a nice bed & breakfast on San Juan Island. One morning, we spoke with Debbie, our hostess, and the conversation turned to books. I mentioned that I liked the used bookstore in town. I also mentioned that I have too many books.
Debbie laughed and told us that she and her husband have too many books, too. “When we lived in Arizona, we had a ton of books. We even built an addition to our house — a library/office with bookshelves lining the walls.”
“But when we moved here, we didn’t have room. This bed and breakfast is big, but the cottage we live in next door only has 750 square feet. We just don’t have room for the books. We got rid of most of them before we moved.”
“Our new bookstore is the library,” Debbie said. “It’s great. They have almost anything I want. And if they don’t have it, all I have to do is ask, and they’ll order it for me.”
I love the public library, but the conversation with our hostess made me realize that I’ve done a poor job of using it since I started working from home. It’s only about a 30-minute walk from our house (and a five-minute drive), but for some reason, I used it more when I was driving to work. I’ve become lazy. I should go visit it next week and remind myself that I, too, have access to a “bookstore” where everything is free.
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All the books that you recommend are always checked out in our library- ALL BRANCHES! I’ve broken down and bought a few of the books online- used of course!
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I love my library system, I can order and renew books online and they call me when my orders in. All that for zero dollars, what could be better?
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I especially learned to love the library after I got laid off a few months ago…there were plenty of job-related books there, and I had plenty of extra time to read other books!
And air conditioned rooms in the middle of June and July are hard to beat!
There are so many DVDs there as well…I love getting free movies!
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I’ve loved libraries since I was a child. I’ve never understood why more people don’t use them. I only buy books that my library system doesn’t have. I keep a notebook handy when I read and take notes whenever I think I will need the info later on. I would never be able to satisfy my reading addiction without my library. Besides, we pay for libraries with our taxes!
Why pay for a service and then never use it?
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The library in downtown Phoenix is five stories high. On top of a large book collection, they also carry a large selection of music that I’ve gotten in the habit of checking out. And not just your usual pop/rock standards, classical and jazz, but they also have a good selection of indie, rap, and metal.
You can imagine the shock on my face when I saw that a library carried an album called Dopesmoker, widely considered one of the heaviest of all-time. It was awesome.
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So true, a library allows you to save the most precious resource, capital.
But i have to admit i love having one or two books in my collection. Alternativly i go to a church book sale and buy a box of books for the same price as one.
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Libraries often also have book sales, the local library has a sale each season of discarded library books & books people have donated as well, as all other forms of media from Dvd’s to books on tape. They sell them for $1 for a paper grocery bag full. At last count, I have around 20 cards fro m different libraries.Libraries also have online resources that include ay our local library , all auto repair manuels from cars from 1960’s to now, 1,500 different magazines(online copies) ,homework helpers with online actual live kid tutorinng in all subjects & they used to have Rosetta Stone languages where you could learn any of the languages using the full programs for FREE . They had a contract with the library, but that has changed now.I have often had 100 items out at a time. Usually my husband says we have to return the library.Libraries are something I know about.There are complete medical journals , health info, research areas, geneology all online libraries. I have web adresses for libraries all over the world. They are fascinating. As you might know we are home schoolers, well, as I like to say home educators. The lady , who thought she could donate her books , then check them out when she wants to read them again, they don’t keep donated books. They either sell them or if encyclopedias or Reader’s Digest condensed books or National Geographics they pitch them in the dumpster & don’t even put in to sell. One library we went to you could check out paintings. I loved that. I could redecorate every couple months with beautiful artwork. The library here also has programs all during the year, sometimes featuring, Irish dance recitals,historical programs, lots of good things. Blessings,Lisa stargazer43008@yahoo.com
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@datamuse: the amount per title that libraries buy is still very little. Publishers rely on *bookstores* to stay alive. Many bookstores which buy some copies per title.
Of course I’m not talking about big publishers, which impose their titles everywhere, but about the small, blooming ones. Every copy bought in a bookstore counts.
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i have been an avid reader since first grade, and collected books when i reached high school. but when i started my financial education i decided to let go of some of them and looked around for a usable library.
problem is, library is NOT a priority here in the Philippines. Community libraries like yours are practically nonexistent over here.
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Libraries rock! I just went to our town library’s annual book sale. People bring in their books and the library sells them to make money. I bought 8 books for $6. Love the library!
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Love my library! Mr. Neal Hawes is correct about volunteering — I started as volunteer (sorting donations) and was eventually hired by my local library.
Paperbackswap.com is great way to get books. Donating to the library is a great way to give books. AND the best way to set your books free is:
Bookcrossing.com
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I “discovered” the public library a few years ago, and my book budget dropped by 90%.
Also, I don’t feel I have to keep a lot of books because if I want to re-read one I can just get it from the library. Hence I am very active on Bookmooch, where my old books found a new life and gave me credits to use in books for my 2-year old son.
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Our library is the biggest part of our family’s entertainment. We trek down there at least once a week – stocking up on story books, DVDs, books on CD, how-to books, reference material, and mind-candy. I LOVE the reserve online feature, as it means I can reserve a book, and pick it up at the front desk on days when I don’t want to haul the whole family up to the adult section on the second floor.
There are still books it is good to own, but I almost always borrow a proposed book first, to try it on for size. It’s surprising how many books I once thought I “had” to own, but now can just visit. :0)
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The library has been my favorite place my whole life (thanks to my mom bringing me there as a kid every couple of days). It’s the soul of a town, in my mind.
That’s why I’m always surprised when someone and I are discussing a book or movie or album and I tell them it’s at the library and they get SHOCKED. Have they never been in there? They have everything in the entire world! They have a lot of books and movies that are long out-of-print, too.
Libraries are getting TONS of graphic novels these days, too. I first found out about them when browsing the library at age 13 and fell in love instantly. They only had eight or so, though, and would get one or two important new titles every year. Now they’re pouring in! I just looked at my library’s new arrivals on their site and they got 83 graphic novels in this month! Mostly manga, which I’m not too crazy about, but the new Alex Robinson book and some Alan Moore collections…so great!
That said, you DO have to be careful about returning your books on time or renewing them. I’ve paid enough fines in my life to earn my own wing.
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I LOVE the library!! I was spending way too much money at Amazon.com. Now I utilize the website from the county’s public library. I order my books and pick them up at a kiosk just steps from my office. Too easy and free. The books can also be mailed to the house for $2/per book. Even better, I can now download audio books for free directly from the website.
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The library is great for trying out books that I’m not sure I want/need to own. Sometimes I read a couple chapters and decide I don’t care for it. Better to learn that for free than for $10!
There are certain books I still buy though, like cookbooks,finance and travel books – anything that I will be using repeatedly. I don’t like traveling with books that don’t belong to me (just in case I drop it in the pool…) so I do purchase some paperbacks for myself. Also, new books that I’m dying to read, I’ll definitely buy those instead of waiting as the 25th person on the library waiting list.
I also wanted to mention that a little while ago Oprah did another show on frugal living, and someone recommended borrowing DVDs from the library and Oprah and others admitted that they had no clue that libraries had DVDs!
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The library is a great place. But remember to feed the beast. Donate your unwanted books, DVDs, CDs to the library. Help them help others.
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Abbott(#64) wrote:
That said, you DO have to be careful about returning your books on time or renewing them. I’ve paid enough fines in my life to earn my own wing.
Heh, me too. And fines here (Australia) vary from library to library but can be quite pricey. I owe at least the cost of a new hardback book at the moment. Oh well, I’ve checked with the staff and they say the fine money goes to funding more books so I’m happy with that.
I adore the library. I went all the time as a child – I can remember when I had to hold my pile of books nearly up to my head to reach the counter, now it would probably be at waist height – and unlike any of my friends I continued going as an adult. My only problem is that the ones here really don’t stock a lot of the books I want, and also that they often cull books, selling them off via book sales. I understand that they want the space, but there are lot of old childrens books that I love and once they’ve been taken out of the library system the only place I can really find them is ebay or secondhand book sales. If I was the only one borrowing them, I wish they’d let me know when they were going to take them out of circulation
Whenever I travel I try to pop into local libraries; partly to see what they are like and partly because when I’m tired from travel (or anything really), I find sitting and reading in a public library so familiar and comforting. I haven’t been to any in the USA but the Canadian libraries I’ve visited were absolutely awesome, much better collections than any I’ve been to here.
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My wife loves the local library, but I like to own books. (We both read a lot professionally which is why we have a pretty extensive library.) When I read a book I somehow think it has become part of me and I would not want to send it back where it came from. I feel like I developed a relationship with it.
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As a library director, I have to point out that libraries aren’t FREE, per se. We don’t charge you every time you walk in the door, but most library service in the US is paid for through taxes — usually a property tax.
And we’re not just about books — even my smallish, rural library has tons of DVDs (current, popular feature films) and audio books. We spend upwards of $25K a year buying new material, and I love getting feedback from library users when it comes to purchasing. We also offer free high speed wi fi, and public PCs if you don’t have a laptop.
So yes, the library is a great resource when you’re trying to save $$$, but I like to think we’re a great resource all the time. The next time you use the library remember that you’re using a service you’ve already paid for. And the more you use it, the more value you get for your money!
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One of the reasons I love where we live right now is that we’re 6 walkable blocks to the local library.
When I hear about a book that sounds interesting, I go to the library’s online website and request a hold on it. I rarely have to wait more than a week, and I save a ton of money. Like others here, if I decide I really love the book, then I can go buy it.
I can sign up to get email notifications when my requested books are available for pick up, and even better, when the books are due — or I’d be paying a lot more “book rent” (overdue fines) than I’d like. Of 50 or so items I’ve checked out this year, I’ve lost one (boo) and had 2 late, which works out to $40 or so — still far cheaper than buying 50 books, DVDs, and CDs!
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There are other options, that are not strictly free, but work cheaper than buying a new book.
One I use a lot is BookMooch (www.bookmooch.com) where one exchanges books online, normally by the post, but there is nothing stopping you to meet people personally to either give one of your books or collect one. As I see it each book is costing just the price of postage I need to send it to somebody else once I read it..
Book Crossing is another one many people like, I personally don’t because it is more like a treasure hunt, but it may be good for others.
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While many mediocre-to-good books are better borrowed than owned, great books are too important for us to entrust their safekeeping to public libraries. We should all own the best books because we should be reading them often and to keep them safe in the event of a revolution, censorship, or even library funding cuts.
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I use the library a lot. The only time I buy a book is if I’m going on a business trip or camping and don’t want to worry about losing a library book or getting it dirty. Has anyone noticed how much the price of paperback novels has gone up in the last 10 years or so? I keep thinking they cost $5.95 – $7.95, and then I’m always shocked to see that they’re now about $15.95 or more!
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Many people tend to have an extensive DVD collection, and for me.. its always been about my book collection. I am 21, and I am sure I am an oddity for I’ve put a few dozen books under my belt that are 500-1200 pages. In fact, I just read a 500pager over the weekend. I find that once I read a good book, I have to get it and add it to my collection. I may even wait a year before getting the book, but once I do it gets neatly organized into my collection, and I look @ it with pride.
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I have gone to the library, usually once a week, since I was able to read! As a child the highlight of my school week was the afternoon my mom took us to the library.
I have a collection of the books I find myself reading over and over, and some refernce type books, but if I had to fully fund my reading addiction I’d have nothing left at all!
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I also love the library. I do own books, of course and sometimes buy at the library book sale and very occasionally, new books at an author’s reading. The library gives me the chance to read books and see DVDs that I might want to own -as well as those that would never be worth more than a few hours or a day’s entertainment.
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Oh! And the Portland Public Library is amazing! Online, you can sign in, put things on hold, browse all of their books (some in digital form!), renew things, see what is due, and access a whole other bunch of great things.
I then go to the library once a week and pick up my books, all at my closest library. They are sent from all over the city.
I even have books on hold right now that aren’t even out yet! But I will get it when it is.
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our local public library is quite nice. i have loved libraries since i was a child.
recently, i’ve more actively been using it, rather than buying books used from amazon. unfortunately, i have been losing money due to my library fines :/ the irony?
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Using the library is a great way to be frugal, but there are a number of downsides.
1. You can’t write in or leave post-it-type markers for later reference. I hate writing in my books, but I do leave many markers in almost every book I read and do refer back to them.
2. Even well-equiped libraries often don’t have many of the books I want to read. Granted, I could probably get away from buying classics and current releases, but see point 1.
3. Library books are often quite dirty.
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I’ve discovered not only my local branch system, but also my closest university system, where I can be a ‘community member’ is a great source of reading materials. I have been addicted to the one-click Amazon habit for too long. It’s time to shift. thanks for your good suggestion!
Grace.
PS–Is there ANY way that you can make the typeface on your comments a little larger? I would really like to read what everybody is saying, but at 6 point type, I just can’t see them.
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I’m very fortunate that Seattle has a fabulous library book system. It’s one of the best I’ve seen. I used to have a terrible book buying habit. I sold a huge stack of books to Half Price books this weekend and I was alarmed at how little I got back. I still have to buy a number of my tech books that I need to keep current with my profession, but fiction books I’m committed to borrowing from the library. I figure this will save me $500 a year or more.
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The public library is a free but often forgotten commodity! If you run a business ask your local librarian for demographic information about your city and it’s all there at no cost.
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