I have long been a big fan of public libraries and in the past twenty or so years have spent a great deal of time at my local branches.  It seems that when I move to a new area, it is always one of the first things I go discover.

Call me a tightwad or call me wise, but these institutions are a gold mine of information.  Think about it – access to almost any book ever written for NOTHING!  Sure, sometimes you have to pay a small fee to transfer a book from another branch, but as long as you are not trapped into that “have to have it on my own shelf” thing, you can actually own them all.

The Wimberley Village Library has done something recently that I absolutely love!  As a huge fan of marketing and of libraries themselves, their checkout receipts blew me away.

That’s right – I have saved over $2,000 this year by checking out books, DVDs and audiobooks.  Sure, they list full retail for the value, but it is a substantial savings.

You don’t think anything of it when you grab a book or a DVD for $15, but over the course of a year it is a LOT of money.  Plus, if the books sucks, no big deal.  If the DVD is scratched, no big deal.  If you don’t get the movie watched in the week allotted or the book read in the two weeks allowed, no big deal – just recheck it.

If you are not regularly taking advantage of your local library, then you are missing out on one of the greatest things about being raised in a great country like ours.  Get out there, enjoy the bounty in those stacks of books and don’t forget to thank your librarian for all the great work they do!