The week of April 6 – 12, 2025, was Library Week here in the states (though, really, every week should be library week in my eyes). One of the librarians at my college library had reached out to me – they were working on a display and wanted to know if I would be interested in being included. Specifically, they were creating a display of how much money folks can save using the library – and she knows what a frequent flyer I am…not just at one library, but two.
She had sent me a link that would estimate the amount of money I save based on the number and type (paperback vs hardcover vs eBook) of books I read each month. Well, I’m a true nerd, and thanks to StoryGraph, I know what I had read so far this year – I could look them all up and give an accurate number. Well, as someone who likes to track things, I thought I’d continue and take a look at what an entire year of frequenting my libraries managed to save me.
My two libraries are my college’s library where I teach (including all the libraries it connects me with through iShare/InterLibrary Loan) and my county library where I live. Aside from one book I borrowed from a friend (because the hold list was too long at the library for me to get it in time for book club), everything I read I borrowed from the library (or already owned, which I, of course, didn’t include here).
As a kid, I loved buying books, reading them, and then displaying them on my shelf. These days, I’m a little more picky about what I buy only because if I bought every book I read, I’d have to give up eating one week a month (I’d also run out of wall space to build bookshelves…). That being said, if I really love a book, I will buy it.
So how much did my two libraries save me on my reading adventures?
TOTAL:
- January: $71.94
February: $73.48
March: $46.99
April: $124.07
May: $78.99
June: $97.76
July: $27.99 👀 (I traveled a lot this month)
August: $100.23
September: $71.94
October: $116.94
November: $108.94
December: $105.93
2025 Total: $1025.20
Minus the books I ended up buying: $39.52*
Saved**: $985.68
To be fair, because they came from libraries, most of these were hardcover, and I prefer to buy paperback. But still. That’s a good chunk of change!
*I had to buy Demon Copperhead. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I also finally bought The Hail Mary Project when the SciFi/Fantasy club returned to it.
**This is just for books. I ended up borrowing a number of DVDs this year, too, which totaled another $753.31 in savings.
Ami Maxine 