I have always had a love for libraries, especially in childhood. We’d go to the library for story time and bury ourselves into little nooks with Nancy Drew mysteries. Before finding my true love and passion for massage therapy, I was a librarian and college archivist at a small college in Tennessee. After undergrad in northern Pennsylvania, I went to school for my Masters in Library and Information Science with a specialization of Archives and Records Management from Indiana University Bloomington. I learned how to organize metadata, preserve primary sources, create digital repositories and book conservation. It was a pretty fun gig helping people navigate and research treasures in the archive. Being a librarian and archivist was awesome and I will always have a huge respect for the work librarians provide for all of us.
In the time of being thankful, I am grateful for public libraries and the many, many resources they provide for the public.
One of the best perks I discovered when my husband and I moved to Boston, MA, in January 2023, was that Charlotte and William Bloomberg Medford Public Library, as well as other Minuteman Network Libraries, provide discounted passes to many Boston and Harvard museums, aquariums and zoos. On the Medford Public Library website, I was able to request a pass for the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and acquired a discount code to use when purchasing tickets on the Boston MFA website. I was able to purchase two tickets, each ticket for $10, versus the $27 dollar ticket price for a nonmember adult. With the library pass, I was able to admit two adults to the museum for the price of one. And we arrived via the Orange Line and saved $$$ on museum garage parking, which would have cost more than the full-price museum ticket. This was a huge win for library passes!
One of my most used perks of public libraries is Interlibrary Loan services. Public library networks, like the Minuteman Library Network, which is a large network of many regionally located libraries, provide Interlibrary Loan services for their patrons. Interlibrary Loan is the service of requesting resources from another library, it is a huge sharing system that allows access of one public libraries’ resources to another, upon request. I request a lot of interlibrary loan library books, titles that may not be available at my local library. I am able to place a request online and pick it up at my local library. Try to resist the urge of buying a new bestseller. Most likely your public library has this available to you. This is an amazing resource, one that I very much use and love, that libraries offer to their patrons.
And for the thrifters out there, public libraries have book sales! So much more than just books. Games, puzzles, CDs and DVDs. Help support your library as well as buy secondhand. Once a librarian, always a librarian. Hope you found these highlights helpful. Love your libraries and use your library card, you will find a whole other world at your fingertips.
Also, stay tuned for my upcoming book reviews on my latest influencer and fashion retail reads, including:
Retail Binge 
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