The highlight of my college years used to be the public library on my college campus. At least once a week I'd stop on by that magical educational haven. I'd say hi to the quirky library guys (many of them also in the college), pick up some videos, some CDs, order in some Chinese Takeout and then I'd proceed to forget about all of the papers I should be frantically writing.
I loved that such a resource existed. Libraries are so often forgotten, but they can be such a pertinent and invaluable resource for a community. I re-discovered my love of the library at Mount Lebanon Public Library this past weekend.
My mom and I dashed in here to escape the cold and to drop off her autobiography. As soon as we entered - we were greeted by two lovely older volunteers who were heading up a non-profit book program - in which they re-sell donated books. Their selection was phenomenal. They had everything categorized perfectly - from fiction, to non-fiction, self-help books, art books, recipe books, memoirs and much more. The best part was that everything was in near perfect condition and they were all priced anywhere between a dollar - to two dollars.
I sat for nearly an hour - perusing through recipe books and memoirs and ended up purchasing about 6 books for about a dollar fifty each. Each book was easily worth at least 15-20 dollars each and each piece of literature was something that I would definitely have purchased if I happened to come across it at a bookstore.
If you live in the area - support your local library and let it support you.
Trust.