When most of us think about our local library, we think about borrowing books. But, many libraries offer many additional services that are usually available for free or a small fee.
- Why purchase books? They can be expensive and often provide an additional challenge of where to store them. At our library, I can browse the online card catalog and place an "order" for my books. The librarians will either get the books off the shelf for me or order them from another library in my network. When I got into the library, I simply have to check for my "holds" on the shelf when I go in. It makes it a lot easier than trying to physically browse the shelves with kids that think the library is a place to run rather than be quiet.
- Why buy Kindle books? I can check out a limited selection of Kindle books (or pdf) files from my local library through the Overdrive program. Each book has a rental period of 2 to 3 weeks and you can even place a hold on the books you want if they are already checked out. Better yet...there are no overdue fees since books are removed from your device at the end of the checkout period.
- Why pay for Gymboree or other expensive playgroups? Many libraries have weekly story times for a wide range of kids that are free.
- Why purchase Video Games? My library offers a collection of video games for free. We have checked out many Wii games from our local library. It's a great way to test out games before you buy to make sure the game is worth the money.
- Why rent videos? Many libraries offer DVD rentals for free. Just make sure you return it on time, since the overdue fees are usually higher for videos.
- Check out your library for other services like free internet, movies on the big screen during the summer, and summer reading programs.
How do you use your library?
dawn
My library, the Cedar Falls Public Library is an incredibly resource.
Besides all the things you listed -
It has adult, tween, and teen book clubs.
It also has summer reading programs for elementary age/and middle school with incentives and prizes for participating.
They also bring in well known authors to speak.
So many frugal ways to learn and be entertained!
I just love my library 🙂
Anonymous
Have you been in a while? Now, the holds are placed on shelves away from the circulation desk. We have to get our own "holds". Still okay with me - I don't have to keep track of the kiddos while looking for those books!
Kelly
Corrie at "Cents"able Momma
OK...you caught me, Kelly :-). I haven't actually placed a hold on books for myself in awhile since I'm reading through a series from the church library. With the boys, I actually let them pick out their own books.
n*stitches
Great tips! Our library lets you keep videos for a week! Much better than the video store!
Money Saving Madness
We love the library and use it for almost everything you listed. Our library has a movie night every Friday, a storytime every Tuesday during the day and Thursday eve, play group on Wednesday and SO MUCH MORE! We get the videos, too!
Nate the skate
As far as saving money on books instead of going to the library. I am a member of paperbackswap.com and I have saved over 50 bucks in the last two years. It's worth checking it out, it's easy to use, free to join, and there are a lot of books to choose from.