Thursday, February 18, 2010

Thrifty Thursdays- THE PUBLIC LIBRARY

You can't get any thriftier than FREE!

I have written about my fondness for the Dallas Public Library here several times before, and it certainly deserves a mention on Thrifty Thursday.

Let me try to convince you to go get a library card today, if you don't already have one.

If you're lucky enough to live in a big city, like me (Dallas) you're really in luck. There are so many branches in Dallas, that it really doesn't matter what my home branch has on the shelf. All I have to do is login online, type in the book title I want (or DVD or CD title, for that matter) and it will be shipped to whatever library I request and held for me! Sometimes, if it's a new popular title, I have to wait. But I always have so much stuff in my queue, it doesn't even matter. I love getting the little message on my answering machine telling me I have a book ready for pick up. I love it even more that it doesn't say which book is waiting for me...So there's the added excitement and surprise when I pick it up. (Although sometimes it can be a dissappointment.)

You can also use the free WI-Fi at the library. You can pretend it's your office, which I think a lot of unemployed people seem to be doing these days. I know for me, I tend to be more productive sometimes when I work away from the comfort of my home (depending on what I'm working on, that is).

There are also magazines there. Oddly, you can check out old ones, but not current ones. Seems a little freaky deaky to me, but they can make weird rules if that makes them feel better.

The bottom line is...It's free! You get to keep books for 3 weeks. And if you want to renew them, you can do it again- 3 weeks at a time, up to 100 renewals per item! (Unless some other library whore is on the waiting list for what you've got checked out.) You can be lazy like me, and just do it all online.

So here's my method... When I'm running low on ideas of books to read, I go to Amazon and type in a title of a book I've already read that I liked. Then it will have some little section like "People who bought this book also liked these books..." Then I just put the titles in a search on the Dallas Public Library website, and then BAM! I request a hold. It's as easy as that!

Or, if you don't feel like doing it online, a librarian can do it for you at your library. Just tell her the title you want and she'll request it for you.

So really, don't you think it's about time you got yourself a library card and used it?

1 comment:

Tapestry Tree said...

I love the library too! And things are SO easy these days when you can request a hold or renew right online. I love that!