The bull market continued last week, as the S&P 500 was up again, reaching an all-time high on Friday.
Last week was also National Library Week, and if you are looking for ways to trim your budget, it’s time to check out your local branch. Libraries have expanded beyond the expected, traditional lending of physical books.
Most libraries now allow you to check out unlimited eMagazines and up to ten digital books at a time using your own tablet. There are other streaming services for movies and music, and animated books that children can read or have read to them. You can do all of that from home, with no more trips to borrow and return books.
Anne Arundel County Libraries also offer use of the website Ancestry.com at no cost; just bring a flash drive to store your family tree. They have computers available and offer free wi-fi. If you need to print something, you can do that at the library. Long-term loans of Chrome Books are available at some branches.
There are free meeting rooms. And classes for all ages, including sewing, yoga, and gardening for adults, hands-on science classes for kids, and story time for young children.
Because libraries are for the entire community, many offer food pantries and even social workers to help clients access local resources. They provide gun locks at no cost.
For library patrons with disabilities, they offer optical character reading tools called C-PENS, plus library-by-mail services for anyone who is homebound.
If you are interested in lifelong learning, you can access LinkedIn Learning, Rosetta Stone, and Peterson’s Test and Career Prep. The Great Courses by Kanopy is also available.
Several different calculators estimate that becoming a regular library patron saves over $1,000 a year on average. If you want to stretch your budget, expand your horizons, make new friends, or research your family tree, the library is there for you.
Your action item this week is to – what else – get your library card.
Check out our website and Facebook page for more information and for our educational events, like our signature Women, Wine & Wisdom™.
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