I’ll start with a confession. There was a time in my life not too long ago when I was completely broke. In between jobs for about three weeks, I was definitely tested by some serious financial difficulties. Suddenly, simple daily or weekly pleasures I’d always enjoyed, like going to dance class, getting a coffee from Starbucks or grabbing a beer with friends, were impossible. What little money I had saved had to go to more important things like rent and bills. I was suddenly turning down friends’ offers to hang out or grab lunch. I was spending a lot of time at home, which, for a busy body like me, was extremely difficult. I was bored.

During one of my dull mornings, I remembered something that I had told myself I would do. I had lived in Brookline, MA for 2 years and still hadn’t gotten my Brookline library card. It was a beautiful fall day, so I decided to walk on down to my library and check it out. I set out with my travel mug full of homemade coffee so I wouldn’t stop at Starbucks on the way. I was a girl on a mission.

When I got to the library, I was shocked. I had no idea the amount of things I could do/get/experience there. I’m not kidding you when I say that I was there for a solid 5 hours. I was entertained the entire time that I was there, and I brought home hours of entertainment as well. The library single-handedly saved me from boredom during those dark days. Even when I was back to work and back to having spendable income, I never stopped taking my biweekly trips to the library.

Now, I know the majority of the Tip Hero community is probably very familiar with the free things that libraries have to offer. But I thought I would offer my list of the top 10 (in no particular order) best things you can get at the library. Hopefully, your eyes will be opened to something new that you didn’t realize you could take advantage of before. My eyes were certainly opened on that fateful fall day.

1. Books

   Let’s get the most obvious perk of the library out of the way first. Unless you love a book so much that you need to own it, get your books from the library. Whether you’re looking for a quick beach read, need to catch up on your classic literature, or want a good murder/mystery, the library has it all. Bring your children to the kids’ section: the little ones can pick out their bedtime stories and the big kids can start good reading habits.

   Another cool feature that most libraries offer is the ability to reserve books online and get status updates. That way, you’ll know when the book that you need is available.

   You can also rent audiobooks if you’re an on-the-go reader. Listen to audiobooks in your car or when you’re out for your morning jog.

2. Rent DVDs and TV Shows

   I personally LOVE this feature that libraries offer. Most people are aware that you can rent movies from the library for free (which is a great alternative to renting movies from Blockbuster or getting them OnDemand). However, one of my favorite things to do is rent old TV shows that you haven’t seen from the library. This way, you can have something to watch just lying around for whenever you have time. For example, I had never watched Sex and the City when it was on TV, but now I watch it as though it were a brand new TV series. I’ve rented each season from the library, picking up the next season when I return the last. My library allows a two-week rental period for each TV show, which is usually plenty of time to watch. And if it isn’t enough time, there is always the option of renewal.

3. CDs and Tapes

   At my local library, I can rent up to 7 CDs for up to a month at a time. That’s more music than I even need in a month. I’ll usually rent 2 or 3 CDs and rotate them in my car’s CD player. I take the opportunity to listen to CDs I don’t have from artists I love or recommendations from friends.

4. Scores and Librettos

   I used this feature a lot in college when I was auditioning for my school’s musical productions. No need to spend money on a book of sheet music for one audition song. In most cases, I wouldn’t even take the book out of the library. I would just copy the song so that I could add it to my repertoire and keep it in my own personal audition binder. Many libraries have a great selection when it comes to sheet music. Whether you sing or play an instrument, check out your library for material before you buy.

   If you’re an actor, you can also find great monologue books for auditions at the library.

5. Workout Tapes and DVDs

   For those of you who don’t have the time or extra money to spend at the gym, fret no more. There are TONS of videos you can rent at your local library for free. Yoga, Pilates, Step Aerobics, Buns of Steel, you name it. Your library probably has it. By having to return videos and renting new ones, you’ll never get bored of the same old workout routine. You could also return to old favorites at times as well.

6. Video Games

   How excited would your kid be if you came home one day with a bunch of “new” games for their PS3 or Wii? Brighten their day (or yours, if you’re a gamer) by picking up some free games for your system. Try to beat the game before you have to return it.

7. Story Time and Free Tutoring

   Many libraries have excellent resources for kids and teens of all ages. The Boston Public Library has free drop-in tutoring for all subjects in grades K-8. The tutoring is provided by high-achieving high school mentors from surrounding schools. Online tutoring up to grade 12 is also available with your library card.

   Lots of libraries also feature story time to get children excited about reading. Bring your kids down to your local library for some quality time, or maybe drop them off at story time while you enjoy some quiet alone time in another section.

8. Magazine and Newspaper Databases

   Need to look up some news item from years and years ago? Make a date with the library! It might be fun to look up grandparents or other family members from your area to see if they were newsworthy at some point in time. Newspaper and magazine searches are also usual available on library websites.

9. Printers and Copiers

   This is not exactly a free service, but if you have a big printing job or have to make a lot of copies, it would definitely be cheaper to use the library’s printer/copier. At 5 to 10 cents a page, you’ll be saving your own paper, ink and money. Do you need one recipe or information from one chapter of a book? You can use the library’s scanner to copy a useful page or two.

10. Museum Pass Programs

    Many museums will send passes to local libraries to promote more traffic. All you have to do is call or visit your local library and book a pass. For example, at the Boston Public Library they offer free passes to the Museum of Science (pass admits up to 4 people for free – normal admission per person = $24.50), the New England Aquarium (admits up to 4 people – normal admission per person = $20.95 per person) and discounted passes to places like The Children’s Museum ($2 per person) and The Museum of Fine Arts ($5 general admission per person). Check out the Boston Public Library site for more info about Boston’s program.

    Many suburban libraries across the country have programs like this. The only problem is that these passes go fast. Make sure to plan ahead and reserve your passes in advance!

There you have it. I’ve only named 10 of the reasons that libraries deserve our praise, but I’m sure there are hundreds more. Unfortunately though, it does look like there may be bad news ahead for libraries.

Taken from Wikipedia:

Despite the importance of public libraries, they are routinely having their budget cut by state legislature. Funding has dwindled so bad that some smaller public libraries have been forced to cut their hours and release employees. While most donations made to public libraries are from private benefactors, they still receive very little in the way of state funding. One of the more recent efforts that have been made to aid public libraries is the Attorney.org Save-A-Library campaign in which they will profile public libraries from around the country in hopes of raising donations.

So show your local library some love while you can and join me in hoping that libraries stick around for a very long time. Would you like confess to your love affair with the library? How do you take advantage your library’s services? Let us know in the comments!

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