A few years ago, my daughter bought me a Kindle for Christmas. She was tired of seeing piles of books all over the house. I then began buying eBooks to read. At last count, I had purchased 240 books on my device.

I do a lot of reading and go down more than a few online rabbit holes every day, so I am often hearing about books that pique my interest.  My first move used to be going to that mega-online marketplace for instant gratification and buying the eBook or actual physical book with just a few clicks.

But one day, as I surveyed the crowded pages of my Kindle library and then took a look at the 164 audiobook titles in my Audible library (some of which I never finished listening to!), I realized it was time to re-assess my life choices. I had 400 titles between these two apps, and I hated to think how much moola I had laid out for those purchases.

Don’t get me wrong—I believe in supporting authors, absolutely.  But I realized that often, the book I was so excited to read after hearing about it, was not actually that compelling a choice. It was then relegated to the back of the app or was stacked, partially read, on my nightstand.

Then I rediscovered a tremendously cost-saving solution—the library!

The solution to my problem had been staring me in the face all along.  I had been carrying my library card around forever, but I had very seldom used it.

When I was a kid, going down to the Delaware Free Library in the narrow building by the railroad tracks in Callicoon was a treat.  I would climb the stairs to the second floor where the shelf of Nancy Drew novels waited for me. Their dramatic covers showing Nancy and Bess and her “boyish friend” George looking behind a staircase or into an old clock got me every time. I would select a title and come downstairs to check it out, getting the due date stamped in the book. When I was back home, I went off to my bedroom to spend the day (and part of the night) huddled up with Nancy and her pals. Pure delight.

Needless to say, when I returned to my local library after my long absence, I was gob smacked by how much things have changed. What a treasure our local libraries are today. Over the years, libraries have become the heart of the communities they serve, offering so much more than books.

At our local libraries, we can check out books (physical, digital and audio), read newspapers, use computers, take craft classes, listen to talks, bring our kids for story time, and have access to so much more online. Kanopy is a free movie lending library that allows library card holders to watch movies for free online. Hoopla and Libby are two other sources for books.

I mean, I hate to put Jeff Bezos (the owner of Kindle and Audible) out of business, but I must admit that I have stopped sending him money every month for a service I can get for free. Now, you would think that if Bezos were a little more community minded, like say, his fellow robber baron wealthy industrialist Andrew Carnegie, he would be donating money to build more libraries for us. A girl can dream…