Local libraries dot even the smallest towns.  It’s the age-old adage of “share and share alike.”  For the price of a few minutes of your time you are awarded a library card … the “golden ticket” to the greatest tomes of all time.  You check them out, read them at your leisure, and return them in exchange for the next best-seller on your list.

Keep an eye out for your library’s book sales, as well.  These are fabulous opportunities to comb through the thousands of books they are clearing from their shelves for good reads at bargain-basement prices.  Most libraries hold annual book sales that are well advertised weeks in advance.  A well packed bag of 20 or 30 volumes can be carted away for as little as $5 in many locales.

Modern libraries have gone “high-tech” and offer members videos, DVDs, tapes and internet access that many cash-strapped enthusiasts find difficult to purchase on their personal budget.  Electronic media rarely undergoes the kind of dog-earing that so often mars the pages of treasured tomes that attract the interest of avid readers.  When sourcing media from the library, one can also take pleasure in knowing that they have reduced the demand on dwindling forests as well as limiting the carbon production of electronic media manufacturing by sharing these treasures through a common source.

Book sharing is experiencing a resurgence, and many “mom and pop” businesses devote a corner of the store to book exchange.  Here the consumer browses the shelves of books, magazines, videos and DVDs for interesting tidbits and purchases them for a nominal fee.  Many shops maintain customer files that track the purchases and returns, ultimately wiping out the cost of the exchange completely.

Friends and families have participated in exchanges for years, often lamenting the loss of a favored volume, but such is the way of sharing.  We retain the memory of a good read, and perhaps will have the good fortune of hearing how our generosity touched the heart of another.  Reduce waste by sharing magazines, newspapers and, yes, good reads with others and make room on your home bookshelves for a new mystery or bit of history.

Many publishers are offering eco-friendly production runs of books by modern-day authors.  These are often available through lesser-known private publishing houses that print books to order.  Search the internet for vanity publishers that cater to new authors and select the books that speak to your heart.  Alas, the manufacture of recycled products also pollutes and is an energy-hungry prospect, but if public demand for cleaner processing continues, we may achieve great strides in reducing humanity’s carbon footprint.

Share your magazines and other publications with your physician’s offices.  Rather than increasing the drain on resources – and increasing the cost to your physician (and hence you) –distribute your once-read materials with them.  Not only will you help the environment, but you will make the office visit much more enjoyable for the next patient.

Books on tape or DVD were launched a few decades ago to allow those with visual or reading difficulties to experience the magic of storytelling.  Millions of books have been written, and only a fraction of them have been converted to film.  Sadly, the reviews follow a common thread “not as good as the book.”  Books on tape now convert the most popular modern tales to audio plays, with actors breathing life to the characters that unfold on the page.  They fill the hours at stressful jobs and quiet the mind for peaceful sleep, and are readily available at most bookstores.