As budgets tighten, people are breaking out their library cards – Georgia Public Broadcasting

As budgets tighten, people are breaking out their library cards  Georgia Public Broadcasting

Some Americans squeezed by high prices are relying more on their local libraries for things like books, streaming services and high-priced items like musical instruments and sewing machines. People study in the Rose Main Reading Room of the New York Public Library in midtown Manhattan on July 06, 2021. / Getty Images Izzy Rivera reads at least one book every week, but buying them new isn't in her budget. As she saves up for law school, some expenses don't make the cut. "Say I'm buying a few a month," she said, "it just isn't realistic." That's why Rivera has recently been leaning more on local libraries near her home in Topeka, Kan., checking out both physical books and digital copies on the Libby app.

(Some of her recent reads: Sour Cherry by Natalia Theodoridou, Spoilt Creatures by Amy Twigg and Plastic Inc. by Beth Gardiner.) Rivera also went to her library's used book sale last month, where she picked up 15 books for about $20. The library's money-saving potential doesn't end there for her. Rivera also watches movies on the streaming app Kanopy, reads the New York Times at no cost and often passes the time at a local branch. "It's somewhere I can go where I'm not expected to spend money," she said. "If I were to go to