For as long as I can remember, I’ve been the biggest fan of utilizing my local library!
I truly can’t remember a time in my life when I didn’t long to spend hours between the shelves of my local library. When I was a little girl, I would check out as many books as my mom’s card allowed – and then proceed to read them all in a week. The first time I got a library card of my own, I cried tears of joy.
When I got older and found out that most people didn’t use the library, I was shocked and mildly appalled! How on earth were they getting their books? I couldn’t understand why people would spend copious amounts of money on books they don’t even know if they’ll like. No thanks, I’ll stick with my wonderfully free books.
In this post, I’ll be sharing just how the library has positively impacted my own life and how it can help you not only save crazy amounts of money each year but also become a better reader!
related posts
How to Read More Books // Why I Switched from Goodreads to The StoryGraph // How to Utilize a Planned Monthly Reading List
5 Reasons Why You Should Utilize Your Local Library
I think I’ve made this one pretty clear, but using your local library will save you tons of money. Rather than cover-buying or just dropping cash on popular books, you can use your library card to check out countless titles for free. After reading them, you can determine whether or not they’re worth spending money on to own. I’ve never had to put myself on a book-buying ban. Since I only purchase books every few months, I don’t feel the need to “cut myself off” from those little hauls.
*Pro-tip: get library cards for multiple libraries. I have five and that has only benefitted me. You have way more options available to you this way!
Using the library helps you save shelf space. My at-home “library” has about five unread books on the shelves and those were sent to me in PR packages from publishers. Aside from that, I know that every other book on my shelf is a 4 or 5-star read that I already love and can’t wait to pick up again one day. Yes, this means that my bookshelves aren’t jam-packed, but instead, it’s a very curated collection that means far more to me than owning a bunch of pretty books that I may never get to read.
There’s no commitment necessary (your relationship with the public library system is casual *wink wink*). It’s normally free to get a library card (unless you’re in another county, in which case you may have to pay an annual fee) and when you borrow books, you don’t have to read them. If you purchase books you’ve never read and consistently add to your growing TBR pile, you might feel guilty due to either not picking up those books or DNFing ones you don’t like. That’s the hard-earned money that you spent and it’s going to waste. However, if you DNF a library book, you spent nothing and you didn’t work to find the perfect edition or signed copy to add to your shelves. No harm, no foul.
You can easily read any format of your choosing. If you prefer physical copies, there’s the option to go to your local library and pick up a stack. If you’re a fan of ebooks, you can download Libby, Hoopla, and Overdrive and have plenty of options in-app. If you like audiobooks, you can also use the apps suggested above to listen to those or you can pick up physical audio formats at your library (for those of you who, like me, may still have a CD player in your car rather than a Bluetooth connection).
*Something that I like to use is the Library Extension. This extension allows me to input all five of the libraries where I currently have cards, and whenever I’m adding books to my TBR on The StoryGraph or even browsing an online retailer like Barnes & Noble, I can see if those books are at my libraries! It shows me format options and if the title is currently on-loan or available to borrow. This makes it so easy to search for and borrow books online without any additional work!
Using your local library helps you stick with your TBR and read more books. Because you can only borrow books for a certain number of days, you get a gentle nudge to actually read those books. I’ve never been in a reading slump in my life – and maybe I can attribute some of that to the fact that I’ve never had a moment where there isn’t a book I want to read directly in front of me. I plan my reading list for the month ahead of time, making sure those titles will be available in some format, and I put them on hold in advance so that I can guarantee I’ll be able to read them in the order I prefer. Once I’ve picked them up, it’s off to the races for me! I just read, read, read, until it’s time for me to put holds on my next batch of books. And there’s no waiting for a shipment to arrive before I have a sequel in my hands.
Do you utilize your local library?
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Sister_Su (Canadian Blogger) says
I too have always loved libraries and often volunteered at libraries throughout my life. Your post has some great points.
Fadima Mooneira says
So true! Library is a good place for books. Plus, it helps you save money and space at home. I wish the libraries in Malaysia are good. Duh!
Caroline says
Libraries are literally my favourite thing! I love browsing the library and often come away with 5-10 books at a time. I haven’t heard of the library extension, but that sounds amazing and I’m going to look into it now x
Penny says
Very true! Using the library has helped me with finding a lot of helpful books while writing my essay during my bachelors degree. Thank you so much for sharing! Xx Penny | http://www.whatdidshetype.com
Rafaela says
I’d love to live in an English-speaking country if only for the better-quality libraries π
I quite like my local libraries (I’ve had the chance to use several thankfully) but if I only had the chance to read from their catalog I’d have a very different taste in books, I’d never get to read new releases and only physical books! This concept of borrowing ebooks and audiobooks from the library sounds amazing π but I’ll probably never get the chance. Still, people who have access to great libraries should absolutely make full use of them, I completely agree with all your reasons!
Stephanie Whitman says
There are actually libraries with non-resident borrowing privileges! I learned about this recently and was so excited. You can see all of the information in this article.
Em says
I have a membership to my local library. I listen to audiobooks from them but I need to start borrowing books from there more often. Especially now its lighter in the evenings I could walk there. Thank you for sharing!
Lucy says
I think it is so important to support your local library. As you said, it can definitely help save a lot of space on your book shelves! x
Lucy | http://www.lucymary.co.uk
Alison says
Growing up I LOVED the library. I went all the time, but as an adult I’ve never lived where one was convenient to get to until last fall. I now have one a couple blocks away! I agree with all your points. I love that I can take a chance on reading a book I might not like because it’s free and there is no financial risk. Libraries open up so many doors for people. I’m so happy they exist!
Jihyun says
I especially love the point about shelf space. I live in a very small apartment, real estate is expensive! I love being able to read papaer books and return them to the library, only keeping books that are most meaningful to me in my room.
Lisa says
Yes to using our libraries more! When I was a child, we always went once a week. Nowadays, it’s harder to find time but as the saying goes, if you don’t use it be prepared to lose it, which would be a huge shame.
Molly | Transatlantic Notes says
I have some really amazing libraries around me that I haven’t used in a while; thanks for the reminder to get back to using them!
Deborah says
Yes to all of these! The first thing I did when I moved to my current neighborhood was update my library card! I love libraries – I basically grew up in them and spent so much of my childhood getting lost between the shelves. #supportlocallibraries!
Carole says
This ex-librarian really enjoyed your post! What I always say is that libraries are wonderfully democratic. They open up learning and entertainment opportunities for all – no matter who you are, how wealthy you are, how you vote, what your orientation or religion is. And they give people the ability to become more widely informed about all kinds of subjects, by offering a range of different publications giving a variety of opinions. Truly egalitarian and a force for good.
Neely Moldovan says
We actually just got my kids Library cards and I have started to check out books on my Kindle! I really wish I had done this before!
Raji says
I really enjoyed this post and agree with you 100%! Libraries are such an excellent resource, and I usually drop by atleast once a week, whether it is to pick up holds or simply browse the shelves for a while. Saving money is a big plus point for me with libraries, along with the fact that I’m really picky about which books I buy, in terms of both limited shelf space and me wanting to curate my collection to only the very best titles. Thanks for sharing!
JamieAdStories says
It is a good point that you can try them before you read. You can return the ones you donβt want. I love libraries too.
Fransic says
Spot on reasons – especially the money. I totally need to do this. Thank you for sharing!
Belinda Jane Bennett says
Great reasons there to make libraries the go-to place for books. Our small library is a hub for the community and even has a Lego Club for kids which meets weekly. I really like the idea of having membership to more than one – something I’d not previously considered. Seeing as our library is really small, I’m now tempted to get membership to a bigger one in the next town along. Fab read.
Sarah says
I love libraries! Great idea to read the books before buying them – I am definitely guilty of this. And also a great tip to join at multiple libraries. Thanks for your ideas π
Jaya Avendel says
Libraries are an amazing place to go! My university has a library that I love to go to when I need a quiet place to study and, of course, nothing beats the books. π
Richie says
I used to virtually live at our local library when I was younger. These days there always seems to be something else to do and I tend to just read books as an occasional treat now. Perhaps I need to get back into the library habit again …
Rosie says
I love libraries, too. Iβm a regular in ours. Also, I like how you plan your reading list for the month ahead of time. I think I need to start doing that too to avoid getting into a book slump.
Graham Crosby says
Excellent post! I used to be a regular visitor to the library when my children were younger. It’s definitely something I need to get back to doing.
According to Chren says
These are all great reasons to utilize your local library. It also makes book reviewing much more accessible.
Loren | plaidandsugar@gmail.com says
I love the public library. Without it, my life would be so so miserable and poorer lol. I love having access to the newest books and to sites that would be out of my reach, such as academic journals and language learning programs. One of the perks is that the books the municipal library doesn’t have there’s a chance the provincial one will. So twice the amount of books!
Thanks for sharing!
Sydney says
Libraries are such an AMAZING resource for so many people. I feel like so many people forget that they offer so many helpful services in addition to checking out books. I am so glad you posted about this, especially because so many libraries are unfortunately in danger of their funding being cut (at least in the US). Thank you for sharing and promoting the use of local libraries!
xoxo,
Sydney
http://www.thelotuslist.com
Jodie says
I adore my local library and utilize the digital formats almost weekly. It certainly helps the budget not buying a book ( I donβt collect books). Great post!
I'm All Booked Up says
These are all great reasons to use the library, something we should do more!
Megan says
Iβve had a library card since I was 3 and was given special permission in high school (librarians talk yβall) to use the local university library for research since I had outgrown ours in grade 11 (some of my claims to fame lol) and I still have so many! Iβm always a big fan and love to support them. I actually just moved to my husbands hometown and the library has one waiting for me to pickup already π thanks for writing this. YAY LIBRARIES!!! Iβm also so happy someone else loves them as much as I do!!!
Tasya @ The Literary Huntress says
I don’t have any local libraries nearby, but I do use online library (scribd) and it’s such a game changer! It totally works the same: saving a lot of shelf space & money, plus it’s super convenient since it’s accessible on multiple device π