Budget Living: Getting to Know Your Library

I love reading. Having a full and busy family, social and professional life, I still manage to finish at least 1 to 2 books a week. To satisfy my lust for books? I bought books second-hand online or if I really like the author, I buy them brand new at our local book store.

Image: MrsGooding

However, given that times are hard, I’ve been racking my brains for a cheaper solution. And I know this sounds dumb but I saw our local library as I was having my lunch in front of it yesterday and thought, oh yeah, the local library. I can borrow books there…for free! LOL

No, it’s not the first time I borrowed books from the library but because it is out of the way from where I work, I don’t get to visit it often and for me, it was out of sight, out of mind! So yesterday, armed with my determination to borrow books from the library (and save on $$ on books!), I scoured the modern fiction section of the library and scored 3 books to borrow. Imagine my surprise when I got to the check out to be told that since I haven’t borrowed for the last 3 years, my membership was de-activated and then deleted from the system!

No problemo. I was able to sign-up right there and then but since I didn’t have any document proving my residence, I was only able to borrow a maximum of 2 books which was good enough for me. I returned today to show my proof of address and voila, I can now borrow up to 20 books….for free! DVD hire only costs $1 per week!

I do plan to come back not only to return the books I borrowed but to get to know my local library more. I pay for the library’s maintenance (and existence!) through the rates I pay our local council so why not take advantage of this?

What about you? How much do you know your library? How often do you go to your library?

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