I’m a big fan of local libraries. I think they serve on important function in our society. They give educational materials to all people regardless of class or income. Let me give a big shout-out to my local Sno-Isle library system. Find them at http://www.sno-isle.org.
I thought the library was totally cool when I discovered a few years back that you can check out digital books online. And of course that only got better when they partnered with Amazon so that books can be read on the Kindle. Come on, this is just too easy!
But their services went over the top (in a good way) for me last night when I went to the library. I went to look at a copy of Consumer Reports. On a whim, I decided to stop and talk to the librarian. I asked casually if Sno-Isle has CR online. To my surprise, yes. And my price…. free!
So I pursued the conversation. What else does the library have online for free. I was blown away. Try all of the Chilton’s auto repair manuals. Homework helps for kids. A career section. A hospital comparison tool. And a thing called Mango Languages which helps you learn a new language. All this for free! Some of them are merely links to other spots on the internet, but many of the resources are paid subscriptions that the library offers to patrons for free. For Snohmish residents, Consumer Reports is a $29 yearly value.
Try it out. Look at the left drop-down menu for most of the free goodies.
Brian Boone 
June 25th, 2012 at 9:25 am
Hi Brian. Totally agree with your appreciation of the Library and also appreciate that you wrote about it. Sno-Isle has a ton of cool things like digital Consumer Reports, Ancestry.com and lots of other great resources available for card-carrying library customers!