I’m sure it will come as no surprise that our country is facing unprecedented hard economic conditions. What is even scarier is that our own personal finances have been hit hard, too. If we would all just go shopping more frequently, the overall economy might improve. Remember when we could afford to go shopping?

Difficult financial climates often result in increased library usage. After all, most of what a library has to offer is free. Tired of spending $29.95 for a hard cover book? Free at the library! What does it cost to rent a dvd these days? Yep, they are free here, too. Want to read the Algona newspaper? U.S.A. Today? The Messenger? The Register? The Independent? They are all free for your use at the library.

Tired of all the magazines piling up around the house? Let your subscription lapse and come check out ours. The current issue is always on the shelf for in-library use. Older issues, this year’s and last year’s, are here for you to check out. We have everything from Better Homes & Gardens and Backyard Living to Workbench and Writer’s Digest.

We checked out 13,216 movies last year to library users around town. If it costs $3 to rent a movie, that $39,648 that was saved by checking the library first. Folks in Humboldt checked out around 65,000 books last year. If each reader purchased his/her own copy at $29.95, it would cost almost $2,000,000. I couldn’t believe it, either. I figured it up twice on the calculator.


We have eleven computers for people to use. We even have wireless internet service if you would like to bring in your own laptop. We don’t charge for computer time, either. Most people are surprised to find out that we don’t charge for much except copies and printouts. A black and white copy is only a dime. Color copies are a quarter.

Our only other fee is our “extended use fee.” Movies are free for the first three days. If you choose to keep it longer, the extended use fee is $1 per day. Extended use fee for everything else in the library is only ten cents per day.

So, if times are tough at your house, try the library. Except if you need a baby sitter…..call your mother!