The library is an oasis for anybody looking for entertainment.  Readers can enjoy books, books on tape or CD’s, and ebooks to our heart’s content.  Movie lovers can browse the DVD’s.  People who like to stay in-the-know could take a look at a variety of newspapers and magazines that would cost a personal fortune to have delivered.  They also have computer access with databases galore for anybody dying to go online or find research materials.

In short, the library offers a ton of free entertainment options that are pretty easy to enjoy.

In many cases, it’s even easier than browsing the shelves or spending half an hour searching down the book you know they have.  Many libraries have a site online that you can use to find and request what you are looking for.  That can be used to request an item anywhere in the library system or even request an item from somewhere else.  Once the item reaches the location of your choice, you can pick it up right off a hold shelf, check it out, and be back to your car in less than 5-10 minutes.

Interlibary lending has allowed me to have access to over 100 paranormal fictions and murder mysteries in the past year that I would not have been able to get to as easily before.  It’s also allowed my husband to save a couple of thousand dollars on books and materials he needed for his graduate school classes.  He’s has had to read a couple of hundred children’s books and teen novels in the past 8 months.  Those alone would have cost us at least $1000.  He’s also used the library to get novels on CD’s so he can take care of the “reading” part of assignments on his way to work or hobbies.

Yep, I’m a library lover.  How about you?  Do you use your local library?  Does your library have an online search and request site?  Do you use your library for something I forgot to list?