Will a library card save you money?

I've been thinking about doing something I haven't done since probably before I was in high school. I'm considering getting a new library membership. Up until not too many years ago I benefited from high school and university libraries. Then, as a full time employed person, I chose to spend my money on books.

I love books. I just don't see myself ever using an e-reader and I liked the idea of supporting the authors I like. Still, I probably have held back on buying books a few times to save money. In fact, in recent years my book budget has dwindled. Maybe this is because I've already built up a decent home library. Or maybe the commitments in the last couple years have kept me too busy. At any rate, I'm thinking about taking the plunge and becoming a member of my local library.

But, having an interest in saving money I wondered whether this was a cost saving measure? That was actually fairly easy for me to determine. I've been pretty consistent about buying books online for convenience sake so it was pretty easy to estimate. About $10 in 2010 and $30 in 2011. Of course I'm not counting all book-like things (pretty sure comic books will not be available at the library) but still, that's a pretty miserly budget. So will a save a lot? No. But hopefully I'll read more than I would have otherwise and take the risk on something that might not be worth buying. And that's worth it in the end.

(Photo from shutterhacks)