As budgets tighten, people are breaking out their library cards
NPR · Joe Hernandez ·
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.
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.