Four reasons to get a library card

March 21, 12:17 AMMinneapolis Books ExaminerMeghara Eichhorn-Hicks

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I recently renewed my library card. It had been eight or nine years since I’d had one, and I decided that if I was going to write a column about books, I should pursue all means of (legally) procuring free reading material. Imagine my surprise when I gave the local librarian my name and telephone number and she told me I owed the county $36.00 in library fees. Naturally, I assumed she was mistaking my perfect history of book-borrowing with that of some reprobate bent on destroying my reputation. It was only when she began reading the titles back to me that I realized I was that reprobate. So I paid the fees, partly because I felt it was my civic duty, but mostly because the librarian was giving me one of those withering stares they learn in librarian school. Now, thanks to her effective means of intimidation, I am once again the proud owner of a library card with a blot-free record. Since then I’ve spent some time roaming the aisles of my local branch, discovering the benefits of being a cardholder.

1. Get Free books. Not that you get to keep them, but for those of us who have crammed so many modular bookshelves from Ikea into our living spaces that we’ve run out of wall space, the concept of returning the book when we’re done with it is pretty appealing.

2. Create online reading lists. The library’s website offers the option of searching for any book within the Hennepin County system and requesting that it be sent to your local branch as soon as it’s available. I can log in to my account and track my place in line for each book I’ve requested. The only downside is that I occasionally find myself in line behind several hundred people who’ve requested the same book I want.

3. Get free Museum Adventure Passes. A family of four can gain free museum admission when they check out the Museum Adventure Pass from any local library. Participating institutions include the Walker Art Center, the Minnesota Zoo, the Bakken Museum and the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, among others. Visit your local library and select the pass for the museum you’d like to visit; you then have seven days to use your passes before they expire. The museum will collect your passes at the entrance, so you don’t even have to return anything to the library. It’s recession-proof entertainment.

4. Check out movies and CDs. It’s not exactly Netflix, but borrowing a DVD from the library is free, easy and a great way to catch up on the classics.