Has anyone STOPPED using the library?

[BlsdMama]

How?

 

Before Ana went to college, she managed my books. I know, I know, I'm a weenie. But I am a wee bit busy these days.

 

So the mail comes Friday. A letter for Ana. Guess what it is?

 

Guess!!

 

That's right! It's acollection letter from a collection agency for $112! Late fees apparently, though we never got ANY notice. Ana is a pretty avid library user but now that she's commuting and on campus (we checked) the last time she checked anything out was mid February. That means her fines HAD TO BE under $20 at the time. How does one even incur that much in seven weeks?! BTW, all but two books had been returned so about $15 of that was charged as replacements.

 

So I added it up.

 

In one year DH has paid $96 on his card, I had $87 charged on mine, and Ana had previously paid a total of $94.

 

Ya'all, I'd rather BUY the books we read.

 

But.... We read a LOT.

 

I know it seems like a cop out but I honestly can NOT take on managing the library list, making sure everything goes back, checking dates, etc. I do not have the time. Plus, when we go the library and I let littles get three books (3 x 4) and middles get 5 (5 x 4) and I get a couple, and we get a couple related to science or history, then we get a few videos for the weekend, and Tim gets 5-6 audiobooks, we are up to approximately 45 items.... For one week. This isn't cointing anything Ana may or may not get.

 

But I don't know how to go without the library. I used to.

 

Do I just need to cut the cord??

[EndOfOrdinary]

Do you have an e-reader?  At our library there is a rather extensive collection of digital books.  When you do not renew them they just disappear from your device like magic.  That means no fines!  You do not have to return them since they return themselves.

[MomatHWTK]

I own a lot of books and we do a lot of reading, etc. using online sources.  I can't manage to return things on time so I just don't go there.  :leaving:

[Guest]

Our toe did not have library access do we never used the library. I got and redox s lot of books from half-price.

 

Long story but here was the situation for us: the Library Powers decided to tax our tie at 3x or more the rate they taxed neighboring towns. Based on an assumption they pulled out of their ...hats. Most people in our town realized that for $600-700 per year, you could BUY s lot of books, so we voted against the tax.

 

It was the tight decision even if it was a PITB from time to time and got us called a lot of names.

[Guest]

Not our toe. Our town.

[OneStepAtATime]

Yes to the e-reader. See if your library will loan you the books through an e-reader.

 

Or pick one day every week where you all go to the library, always. Everyone knows that is library day. Books must be returned or renewed. Have one of your middles take on the job of making a list of the books you all check out. Another middle is responsible for confirming the books are ready to be returned when you go back the next week. Pay them a fee. Like 50 cents or something.

 

Or if your library has online renewal and you have a smart phone, set an alarm for when books are due and when the alarm goes off if you can't make it to the library renew on line.

[EmseB]

I'm horrible at the library. Late fees every time. I stopped using it this year and bought used and from Amazon. I don't think I saved any money, but my stress level is way down and we get to keep the books.

[momto10blessings]

I tell the kids that if they don't keep track and take care of their own books/DVDs/CDs then they can't check anything out at the next visit. It's amazing how that happening just once has made them so much better at keeping track of their books. They also have to pay for any replacement fees with their one money. No more books left outside or at the river.

I keep baskets on the piano just for library books.

[Arcadia]

There were times we forgot to renew if we still need the book or return. I ended up banning borrowing for a while until all the library books in our home are returned. I have a big IKEA cloth box for putting library books in so it is easier to find the books to return.

[Lori D.]

It would have been hard to stop using the library while DSs were in elementary/middle school. However, by high school, we wanted the books for longer, and it was just easier to buy them used and then resell at the end of the school year. Also, our library has cleared out a lot of the books in the past 5-8 years, so it seems like there are hardly any books on the shelves any more… :confused1:

 

Also, by middle school/high school we were busy with so many activities and longer school days to get everything done, we just didn't have time for a weekly library trip, as in the pre-school and elementary years. 

 

Now, I just find it easier to use the local used book store like a for-a-fee lending library. The store is huge and has TONS of books of all kinds (at half the cover price). I buy an armful, read through them, and then fill a box and slowly over time whenever I visit they buy back books (at a quarter of the cover price), and I use the credit to buy new books. Because it's SUCH a great and helpful store, I don't mind spending money in support of them.

 

Also, buying books online, or using Paperback Swap, or going to yard sales and Good Will stores is a great way to find books super-cheap -- often $1 a book -- sometimes just 25-cents a book! Then I recycle through the used book store for more credit...

 

 

In your situation:

Can you institute a crate by the front door or on a bookshelf, and ALL library books MUST live there at ALL times, except when being read in someone's hands? That keeps the library books in one place and less likely to be lost and then go overdue. Maybe also only go to the library once every other week, and take the entire crate of books back at that time, so no book has the chance to become overdue?

 

Also, can you build into your regular library trip 20 minutes BEFORE leaving the house for a "book check"? Use it to go access your library account online and print off the list of materials that have been checked out. Hand the printout to the kids, and everyone goes and checks off that their materials are in fact in the crate for return. If they get sloppy and check off without REALLY checking, and something doesn't get returned (or goes overdue), the person responsible loses their library privilege the next week when the new list is printed out and there is something with a pressing due date or overdue date. (And hopefully very little will end up being overdue, as it will show up on your "items checked out" list that you print out the following week, so you have another chance to get it in before it goes overdue.)

[lailasmum]

I don't really use ours for a few reasons. It's pretty lame rural library with poor choice. I too find it hard to get things back on time. They are closed on Wednesday which tends to be the day we are out in town and so can't use it that day and combine trips. Paying parking just to use the library again makes it expensive. I  prefer to buy books new or second hand and then re-sell them.

[mom@shiloh]

I don't use the library much.  For one thing, I like to monitor what my kids read -- I read a huge amount of junk that wasn't fit for human consumption when I was younger, to my detriment.  It's really hard to monitor at a library.  

 

I am also not great at getting things back in time even though I do receive email notices.  

[Mandylubug]

I paid 300 dollars within one year of fees because we would check out 40 at a time and then forgot.

 

We now typically purchase or plan around what I own. Sometimes, we just add encyclopedia entries.

 

If I really want to use a library resource, we go to library and use it there. I haven't missed it much.

[Sarah CB]

I swear I have a disability when it comes to borrowing books.  It doesn't matter how good my intentions are, I just can't get them back on time.  Yes, I could renew online, for some reason I just don't.  I don't even want to think about how much money I've spent on late fees.

 

About six years back I stopped using the library.  Every year or so I think I must be capable of taking something out and then returning it on time, but then I incur more late fees.  In the fall one of my boys was working on a research project so we took a bunch of books out of the library.  I tried really hard and got all the books back except for one.  That one book ended up being about three months late.  I have no idea what my fines are for it.  I don't want to know.

 

Anyway, I do buy a lot of books.  I also go to the used book store a lot.  And I sell books we aren't going to read again.  And all the kids ask for book store gift cards for their birthdays and for Christmas.  I buy a lot of e-books as well.  Classics are often free or very cheap.  

[Jen in NY]

Can you guys sign up for e-mail reminders about your books? We get courtesy notes a couple of days before the books are due - it makes it harder to forget.

[ktgrok]

Do you have an e-reader?  At our library there is a rather extensive collection of digital books.  When you do not renew them they just disappear from your device like magic.  That means no fines!  You do not have to return them since they return themselves.

 

That's what I did for along time. We just started getting real books again, and only because I finally paid off my fines after nearly two years of payments. We were WAY up there. At one point over $200. And that was with everything returned! They had a dollar a day fee on DVDs so thos added up quick. i am no longer checking out DVDs, lol. And only getting a few things at a time. 

[ktgrok]

Also, what makes it worse, is that even when I WORKED at the library 3-4 days a week, as a teen, I couldn't manage to get books back on time. I'd forget over and over. It's awful, but I'm still working at it. 

[5of5]

The e-reader and email reminder ideas are good.  Also, for books with plastic covers, you can put a sticky or removable painters tape and write down when the book is due.  I find that helps me, anyway.

[marbel]

 We love the library and use it constantly.  We do sometimes incur fines, but it's pretty minimal. 

 

I only have two kids, and one manages her own account pretty well, so I'm sure that makes it easier. And, our library is very  close to our house and convenient to swing by if we need to drop something off.  So, I just don't find it that hard to manage the books.  I check the library account online every day so I know what is coming up due.  I have a tote just for library books, so as soon as we're done with something it goes in the tote.  When something is due it goes in the tote, or I renew it (also online). 

 

We check out a lot of books that we use minimally; for example, for research papers.  We probably have 8 books on the Cuban Missile Crisis out right now.  Or cookbooks - I never buy a cookbook anymore without previewing it (cooking a few things from it).  Not all the books we want are available in e-format.  No way am I buying all those books.  It would be fiscally irresponsible for us to buy all the books we get from the library.  And movies. We still get movies on DVD - there are a lot that are not available for free or cheap online. 

 

I think I sound like I'm scolding non-library users.  But remember my life and library system are such that it is not hard for me to manage.  So while I don't exactly get the problem of returning books on time, I do get that everyone's life is not like mine.

 

Oh, btw, I would be SO MAD at getting a collection letter with no prior notification of fines.  That is really over the top wrong.

[kewb]

Even with my fines it is still less expensive then buying everything I have borrowed.

 

When mine were little I had a basket by the door for all library books. Once you were done with the library book for the day it went in the basket. This dramatically cut down on lost books.

 

I get email reminders from the library when things are due which is helpful.

I also use a Kindle and the library books just disappear when the due date hits.

I <3 my library.

[wendyroo]

Could it be time to move library responsibility down to one of the next kids in line?  Turn over the job and let the child figure out how to manage the books (institute policies about where books are kept in the house to reduce how many are lost, etc).  Even if you were to pay your new "library liaison" $10 a month to do the job (minus any fines, of course) you would still come out ahead.

 

Wendy

[Word Nerd]

I can't tell if this is a JAWM post or if you're looking for solutions. It does sound like buying your own books might be a better option for your family if no one is willing or able to manage the responsibility.

[ByGrace3]

I buy ALL books for school. With all the late fees I pay, it's cheaper to buy. About once a year I have a momentary lapse in judgement and take the kids to the library. We end up with $50-$75 in fines and we don't go back until my brain stops working a year or so later and the cycle repeats...we are about at the year mark..l need to stay strong! :lol:

[lynn]

I do a weekly book count,check due dates on line, renew as needed and still end up we with occasional fines. Maybe $25-30 in a years time which is a small price to pay for amount of books, movies,and other materials we check out. I don't think we could stop using our library. I have kept a bag by the door to put books in as I find them and get the bag to the car on errand day. This worked well when the boys were young and would check out 5x the books we do now.

[SparklyUnicorn]

Our library is not good so I don't use them much for that reason. When the kids were younger and we checked out a lot of books, I paid $75 per year to a neighboring town's library because they had a much better selection.  It was extra annoying to get there, but not once did I pay a late fee. 

 

Consider it a donation, and get a better system for remembering to return the books on time.

 

 

[mom2scouts]

We rarely go to the library.  I can hardly ever find any of the books I want for school.  When we do get books it's hard to get them all back on time since we don't go regularly.  My dh got tired of paying my fines.  Oops.

[Laura Corin]

Our library doesn't charge late fees for books taken out by children.  Currently, I put all our books (up to 15) on Hobbes' card.  I don't know what I'll do when he reaches 18.   Our library doesn't have e-reader loans yet - maybe it will by then.

[sunflowerlady]

My library system sends email reminders which are a real help to me. If it weren't for those reminders, I would have a lot of fees also.

 

 

[Night Elf]

I've always preferred to buy used books, but I don't have a large family. We had lot of bookcases though so when we bought books, we had somewhere to store them. I was also an avid seller/customer online through ebay and the Sonlight for sale board. As my kids got older and I wasn't using regular curriculum, I stopped buying and selling online. I just bought through Amazon and then donated used books to Good Will. I hate paying late fees and it seemed like we were always misplacing a book or two which led to a whole top-to-bottom search of the house on library day. Just way too stressful.

 

If you want to cut back, take out fewer items Let the kids take out 2 books and limit audio books and dvd's to 2. Does your library give a receipt that shows the names of the items checked out? If so, hang that on the refrigerator. Or have an older kid create a list of what was just taken out. Create book buddies. Let one older child be responsible for one small child's books. Do you have a designated box/basket for library books? Do you have a regular library day, like once a week?

[rieshy]

This is me after my oldest went to college- she was the family book manager. We use the library for research but we no longer check anything out. I've tried every system under the sun to not have fees.

 

I hate e- readers. Used bookstores or Amazon or curriculum sales. I save money and I save stress.

I still text oldest daughter when I cannot find a book I know we own and she'll tell me accurately what shelf it's on.

[ThisIsTheDay]

Also, what makes it worse, is that even when I WORKED at the library 3-4 days a week, as a teen, I couldn't manage to get books back on time. I'd forget over and over. It's awful, but I'm still working at it. 

 

That is funny! I worked at our library for several years, so I was able to keep track of my account, lol.

 

To the OP:

 

Could you pay one of your middles to do the job?  $5 a week or month?

 

If an email reminder system might be helpful but your library doesn't have one, see if they are a part of LibraryElf.com .  It was easy to sign up, free, and you choose your own reminder options.  I get both email and text reminders each day beginning three days before items are due.  Pretty sure I heard about it here several years ago!

 

In general, if anyone has a particularly outrageous library bill, you might try approaching your library director and asking for leniency.  Be prepared to pay it that day.  In the library where I worked, I went to bat for a couple of special patrons (homeschoolers), and their fines were cut in half.  But it was a one-time deal for each of them.

 

 

[SparklyUnicorn]

They e-mail me several days before books are due.  I usually make it a point to either go that day or the next day so I don't forget.  If your library does not do that there are programs and aps where you can set them to remind you.

 

 

[Valley Girl]

I agree with those who suggested asking for electronic reminders if your library offers those. Or set up some kind of "reminder" system on your e-mail yourself if you can. (I'm not techy, so I'm no help there.) My eminder system consists of putting a colorful post-it note with "library books due" on the family calendar that that's on the refrigerator. I see the note many times a day, so it's a constant reminder. Low-tech, but it works well. (I put a second post-it at eye level on the cabinets when return day gets closer.) Low-tech, but it works.

[Wildcat]

Have I stopped using my library? Sort of.

 

The selection is paltry because they keep adding computers, so they get rid of bookshelves to make room. They seem to have stopped buying actual books, as the selection is awful. If I want to reread something from Dean Koontz or Patricia Cornwell from 10 years ago, I'm fine, but the new release? Forget about it. There MAY be one book in the entire county (pop nearly 400,000). They are horrible about checking things back in, and while I would like to support my library, I hate doing so with fines I have not actually incurred. 

 

I mostly buy used books from their used book store and will pop in about once a month or so. I will also occasionally check out a series on DVD, but that's painful because someone decided to spread each season across the entire system, so I either have to drive to each branch (not happening), or wait for a transfer, which often takes several weeks. 

 

I never thought I would utter these words..... I don't like going to the library anymore. :crying:

[mellifera33]

We check out lots of ebooks, but I am hesitant to check out real books after a family member (not in our household) got bedbugs from a library book.

[Momof3littles]

Yes. Ours is somewhat unfriendly compared to our last hometown library, so that colors my view.  Our previous library would allow us to make requests, and then books were ready in a holding area for us.  This was fantastic when I had young toddlers, etc. and just wanted to be in and out of the library.  My current library only does that for a buck a book or something. Our last library would often renew books that had been temporarily lost.  If I returned say 29 of 30 books, they'd give me an extra renewal on that single missing book because 99 percent of the time I'd be back in a few days with it.  Our current library does not do anything like that.  I by no means expect it, but I do miss the user friendly nature of our last library in comparison, kwim?  The big kicker is that they had some budget cuts, and at that point, I found that almost every visit or every other visit they wouldn't check materials back in, we'd have a fine, I couldn't check anything else out, etc.  I'd have to call, they'd locate the books on the shelf, and clear our fines.  That gets old quickly IME.  I understand that mistakes happen, but given how they aren't particularly user-friendly overall, it irks me. And on a personal level, I think most of the staff are perpetually grumpy, and that was the case even before budget cuts.  I don't know...they are just very dry, unfriendly even towards the kids, very by the book with no flexibility on rules in comparison to our last library.  I know they are overworked, underpaid, and don't owe us nice things like an extra renewal, but having had that at our last library, it is hard to go back.

 

Our last library also had a better system for reminders, online  management of renewals, etc. in comparison.

[LostSurprise]

 

If an email reminder system might be helpful but your library doesn't have one, see if they are a part of LibraryElf.com .  It was easy to sign up, free, and you choose your own reminder options.  I get both email and text reminders each day beginning three days before items are due.  Pretty sure I heard about it here several years ago!

 

In general, if anyone has a particularly outrageous library bill, you might try approaching your library director and asking for leniency.  Be prepared to pay it that day.  In the library where I worked, I went to bat for a couple of special patrons (homeschoolers), and their fines were cut in half.  But it was a one-time deal for each of them.

 

This bears repeating. 

 

A lot of library systems have electronic reminder systems now. Before dumping the library I would find out if they had something like that available. Check out their website or ask at the desk. I can order a book online, get an email reminder to return it 2 days before it's due and another 2 days after, and renew the book online (if no one else wants it...2 renewals max.). If the book is renewed within 5 days of its due date there are no late fees. 

 

Depending on the culture of the library, quite a few will cut you some slack periodically, especially if you are a 'Power User.' Most homeschoolers fall into this category. Not every one will, but it's worth exploring if money is tight. (We usually call Library Fees 'tipping' in our house...as in "I tipped your account at the library today." We love our library and consider it a donation to a good cause, not an irritation.) 

 

 

 

If your library does not have an up-to-date reminder system or a people-centered culture, then perhaps you're right to move on. Not all things work for all people. 

[AnnE-girl]

I've had a couple issues with our library, but on the whole, I love it. I use the hold system all the time and just found out from the children's librarians that I can schedule my holds for different times so I can go through my lesson plans and have the books I need pulled for me as I plan to use them.

Our library does have a phone app that I can check my account on and renews items as needed, as well as email notifications two days before items are due. Most books can be checked out three weeks at a time and then renewed four times as long as no one else puts a hold on the item. I have had some fines in spite of all that, but twice a year the library offers a "food-for-fines" week when we can bring in items for the food pantry and have fines forgiven.

[KungFuPanda]

45 books would cost way more than your current fine. It will NEVER be cheaper for that many people to buy books. It sounds like you just need time to develop a new system. Maybe the kids could 'turn in' their books the night before your library trip. That way there's no last minute search for one or two books.

 

I go to the library much less now, but I have teenagers. I'm not sure how you avoid it with little kids. Can you get an educators card?

[PinkInTheBlue]

Do you ever have appointments you must be at in certain days? You create the library book return date as a set appointment. It's not about making time but making a priority. Make it an appointment you can't miss.

 

It's also helpful to make that date a day or two early in case of an unavoidable rescheduling. :)

[littlebug42]

We have an excellent library system but I don't use it much anymore.  I have paid a fortune in fines over the years and now that my girls are older, we tend to spend more time with books and with my schedule, I just can't be responsible for one more thing.  We have Amazon Prime, and it has made my life so much easier.  I also use Better World Books to help get things for school.  I do use my kindle to borrow library books for myself which makes it easier to take books to work with me, etc.  

[Dmmetler]

I've gone to e-book checkout almost entirely since DD is no longer in the picture book/kids series book stage. Our library isn't really useful for much other than causal reading anyway, and most new fiction is being purchased for the e-library as well as in print form locally.

 

That and our local library seems to be getting less and less pleasant a place to be. It doesn't seem possible to escape poorly behaved and unsupervised kids at any time anymore, and the collection size keeps dropping in favor of more computers-many of which are occupied by said kids playing games.

 

I miss the libraries I grew up with.

 

 

 

 

[Word Nerd]

I agree with those who suggested asking for electronic reminders if your library offers those. Or set up some kind of "reminder" system on your e-mail yourself if you can. (I'm not techy, so I'm no help there.) My eminder system consists of putting a colorful post-it note with "library books due" on the family calendar that that's on the refrigerator. I see the note many times a day, so it's a constant reminder. Low-tech, but it works well. (I put a second post-it at eye level on the cabinets when return day gets closer.) Low-tech, but it works.

 

That's really all it takes. You don't need a complicated, high-tech, or time-consuming system. Circle the due date(s) on the calendar as soon as you get home from the library. It only takes a few minutes at most to look at the calendar once a week to see if there are items that need to be returned in the next few days. Most libraries print checkout slips—you could even tape those on the calendar. All school-age kids and adults should be responsible for keeping track of the items they check out and returning them to a box, bag, or other central location in the house when they're finished with them; if they can't or won't do that, they should lose the privilege of checking things out.

[redsquirrel]

Well, I married a librarian, lol.

 

Ok, actually I do end up buying lots of books for school. I absolutely borrow pleasure reading books. I have become a kindle addict and borrow heavily on that thing. But, I also have two libraries to chose from. There is the local public library, which is excellent, and also dh's library, which is a very, very large university library system.

 

But we are in love with using the CHOL books along with SOTW and no matter how much I resolve NOT to buy them because every single one is at the library, by this time of year I am downloading them onto my kindle.  I just can't get my sorry carcase to the public library.  I also have a huge used book sale twice a year down the street from my house (third largest in the country, I've been told) and I put that to extremely good use. I also donate all old books to that sale.

 

To the OP, does your library offer email reminders? I find those very helpful. And like others have mentioned, we have a special place where library books 'live' and they get put back in that particular basket. I also limit the entire family to ONE library card. We can take out 20 books at any one time with one card. So 20 and that's yer lot. If you want more then read fast. But if I start filling up one card or having one card suspended due to fees (which I have) and can then put them on another card etc, well, it just isn't a good idea. So one card for all of us and that is it.

 

Can you access your account online? Before any library trip I call up my account and double check that I have all library books ready to go. I can look at each title and check them off as I gather then.

 

Those daily fees can really add up, and I have paid a few hefty ones in my time. If it has gone to collections then there are prob lost book fees and replacement fees added on as well. At dh's university library, it is a 200$ per book fee for any lost books, so be grateful you aren't having to deal with that.

[MysteryJen]

When my kids were little, we went to the library on Fridays. Every Friday and they could check out 3 books. I managed to keep everything under control for a while. Then, we needed more time for the books and when the fines piled up, I just started using thrift stores instead. Now I have lots of books and my youngest two can read from my library.

E reminders help as do limits on the number of books checked out. If something is necessary for school, I will buy it used.

 

But weekly trips during the picture book ages, help keep things under control.

[TrixieB]

Yes to the e-reader. See if your library will loan you the books through an e-reader.

 

Or pick one day every week where you all go to the library, always. Everyone knows that is library day. Books must be returned or renewed. Have one of your middles take on the job of making a list of the books you all check out. Another middle is responsible for confirming the books are ready to be returned when you go back the next week. Pay them a fee. Like 50 cents or something.

 

Or if your library has online renewal and you have a smart phone, set an alarm for when books are due and when the alarm goes off if you can't make it to the library renew on line.

 

That is what I do.  It has eliminated our overdue fines.  Also I read a lot of e-books which go away when they're due, so no fines on those.

[Upward Journey]

The two things that have cut down the most on our "user fee" ;) has been signing up for email reminders (I think we get these 5 days before the book is due?) and ONLY going to the library on Saturdays.  It could be any day of the week, the key is going on the same day every week.  I only pickup our holds on Saturdays. That way you don't end up with books due on a day you're not going. 

 

I've also made all of our passwords the same, that way I can easily check everyone's cards to gather books.

 

 

[HRAAB]

I have an issue with library fines. I get busy and forget to renew. However, my fines have never been that much at one time - maybe $35 or so. Still, I wouldn't know how to live without the library. And I own lots of books. The library is my favorite hang out. I've never used their eReader program, but I would start doing that.

[itsheresomewhere]

We don't use our library.  It has gone downhill.  Everything we want it either interloan or they don't have it.  When they do have something, pages were ripped or stained.  And our library would "forget" to check in books so I would have to go to the shelf to pull the wasn't returned book.  Our library seems to be focused more on DVD's or video games for kids. I use library sales in other towns, amazon or better world books.  

[vickjul]

We use the library heavily, but have an easy system in place to keep track of books. For starters, we have a dedicated shelf for library books and only library books on one of our living room bookcases. Second, library books may be read only in the living room and must be put away afterward. (Any child who absconds with a library book loses library privileges for the next week.) Once books are completed, they go into our library bag for return. I sit down on Sunday night, pull up my library account, and see what books are due within the coming week. I then renew or pull for return any titles not already in the bag. We generally go to the library on Mondays, but even if our library day changes, returns are ready to go. If need be, I can even hand the bag to DH and ask him to drop them in the book drop on his way to/from work.

 

We still buy a LOT of books. (I love BetterWorldBooks.com's clearance sales. ...) But we've got a decent library system and excellent interlibrary loan system, and the combination saves us at least $250 a month.