Guys. Guys! GUYS!
Ok I have your attention.
I have a public service announcement. This one’s important: You should go visit your library. Like, yesterday. And if not yesterday, at least make a point to take a stroll there tomorrow. Because the library is a wonderful place. It took me until I was twenty-five to realize it, but I have to make up for lost time.
You know what I used to do when I wanted a book? Spend $10-15 on each. I lumbered hundreds if not thousands of dollars of printed paper the 1.5 miles from the bookstore to my house. Uphill. And then, if after a couple chapters I didn’t like the book, it’d sit there on my nightstand. Taunting me. Like my copy of Ulysses. That sucker will be there for years.
Now what do I do? I put a hold for the book at my local library. It’ll get shipped a half mile from my house from anywhere in the entire state. And then, if it’s not to my taste? I bring it back. Just like that– poof, it’s gone! Even if I do like the book, I could buy a copy later. And, really, how many of my books have I read more than once? Less than 20%, that’s for sure.
This frees up two valuable resources: money and space. And what do I have to pay in return for this privilege? Literally nothing. I mean, my property and income taxes, sure, but I was paying those anyway.
In addition to physical books, the library grants me access to a lot of cool digital content. Newspaper access, ebooks, movies, audiobooks. And I don’t have to leave the comfort of my home for it either, just type in my library card number and have a world of DRM’d information right at my fingertips.
Plus, my library gives out free museum passes which, out here, is like giving out free gold. It costs a family of four (two parents, two kids) $90 to visit the science museum on a Saturday. With a free pass from the library? $0. Four for the aquarium goes from $94 retail down to $40. So on and so forth for the fine arts, contemporary arts, natural history, local history, and children’s museums. And the zoo too!
How often do you visit your local library?
Yet Another PF Blog 