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Is that intake of breath I hear the collective sound of Americans tightening their financial belts? As the price of gasoline and food soars and we are a little jittery about what comes next, this might be a good time to point out the value of public libraries.
The nine branches of the Springfield-Greene County Library District offer a whole range of services of various types. How much you save is dependent upon how many of the library's services you use and how often you use them. . .how many books, movies, music CDs and audio books you borrow each month, how often you browse the library's collection of magazines and newspapers, how many programs you and your family attend.
You can save money by using Library computers to access information and subscription databases. Or you can simply ask a librarian a reference question.
Storytimes, lectures, concerts, travelogues, films—all the entertainment you could ever want for children, teens and adults is available year around. You can reserve a meeting or tutoring room—more than 25 are available systemwide—for your organization or club and take computer classes at the Edge, the library's Community Technology Center.
What's all this worth to your family? You can go to thelibrary.org/library_roi.cfm and enter the number of times you use the specified library services each month on a simple "individual return on investment" calculator. The device will automatically calculate a dollar amount. It's just a ballpark estimate, but it does give you an idea of how your public library can benefit your bottom line.
But don't stop there on your penny-pinching. Here are some titles Business Librarian Mike DePue recommends to get Americans through this financial crunch:
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