You've heard people say that using the library will save you money. I've heard your excuses not to use it. It's out of the way. I end up paying late fees. The book I want to read is checked out. My library charges me for requests. It's inconvenient. Piffle! We live in an instant gratification society and we're used to getting what we want when we want it and who cares if we have to pay for it. Again, piffle! The library has saved me $1128.27 so far this year. And guess what, I've only been using the library since March and the year isn't over yet.

You're probably wondering how I came up with that amount. The $1128.27 figure seems quite exact and it is...but it also isn't. I maintain a spreadsheet where I list all the books I read each year. It's a Google Spreadsheet which I like because it means that I can access it from anywhere and it helps me keep track of not only what I've read but what types of books I'm reading. I just added two more columns to it - one for "Library/Owned/Borrowed" and one for the cover price of the book. I used the cover price to get the amount,ie the price I would expect to pay in any bookstore that I walked into, and not the price that I can get online or second-hand. The amount is, of course, debatable. In addition to not using sale or discount prices I also didn't include magazines, videos, musicCDs and cookbooks because I don't keep track of them and while I could remember some of them I wouldn't remember all of them. And well, the prices are in Canadian dollars. The price of a book in Canada versus the United States ranges from being the same price to being as much as 40% more. I personally found my biggest individual savings were in non-fiction and audio books but I read so much fiction that the quantity of what I read makes those a big saver. I'm comfortable with the amount even though it scared the pants off me to calculate it.

There are easier ways to calculate the value of your library use. The Maine State Library, Brooks Memorial Library and Montana State Library all have calculators to help you. You input how many books, movies, magazines, etc you borrow each month and it spits out a number. In my case I've read 46 library books since March. That's just about six books per month. Using those calculators it works out to between $90-150/month which is between $1080-1800 per year. I know what you are saying, and yes I do read a lot. Let's say you read just one book a month or twelve books a year. That's between $180-324 per year. Add one DVD per month in addition to that one book and your savings shoot up to $228-588 over the course of a year. Do you commute? If you borrow one audio book per month (which more often than not you can download right to your MP3 player) you'll save $120-492 over a year on audio books alone.

Now are you going to sit there and tell me that your library fines are going to be more than that each year?

As I've said, calculating all of this was scary. I actually added up all the books I've read in the past year (library, borrowed, owned and ARC copies) to date. That is 93 books so far and the total came to $2047.10. Ouch, ouch, ouch! If I were really dedicated I'd probably add up all the books in my apartment but I'm afraid if I did that I'd have to go hide under my bed. With a very large bottle of wine. Or maybe tequila. Needless to say that I will be triple thinking before buying any more books.The library is my friend and we're going to get even friendlier.

So how do I use the library effectively? Here are my tips.

- The online catalogue is your best friend. I check my account almost daily and when the catalogue is down for maintenance it drives me insane. (Obsessive? Me? Never!) Most libraries have moved their requests online as well. I love requesting books online. It's like shopping! But free!Ok , so maybe it's not free at your library so we'll say it's very, very discounted. Even if your library charges $1 per request and you request one book per month you'll read twelve books for less than you'd normally pay for one. You can also renew books online which is very handy. They will also either call or email you when your request is ready and tell you how long you have to pick it up.

- Request more than one book at a time if the book isn't immediately available. More often than not the book I want is not just sitting on a shelf somewhere but someone has it out and there are even more someones in line for it ahead of me. If you are really good you can probably plan it so that you won't get too many books at one time. Keep an eye on your place in the queue and how many copies of the book the library has. Many libraries also let make your request inactive, which means you'll keep moving up the queue but you won't actually get the book until you make it active. This can be handy when you're going to be out of town, for those times when life gets just a bit too hectic, and when you have too many books on your plate already.

- Because I have a (slightly bad) habit of picking up too many books at the library I try to only stick to those that are on my request list. Clearly not everyone will have this problem. I do browse frequently and most of the movies and magazines I pick up there are "impulse buys". This isn't so much a money saving tip as it is a sanity saving one. I also try to avoid the one week loans if possible because that throws my whole reading schedule (such that it is) out of whack.

- Check it out before you buy it! How many times has some told you that you absolutely must buy that amazing cookbook/knitting/parenting/craft/gardening book and then you get it only to realize that you'll never use it? I screen books at the library, especially cookbooks. I'll request it (sometimes having to wait longer than I want to I admit), check it out, maybe try a recipe if it's a cookbook and then decide. There are very, very few books that have made the cut. In fact I think there's only been two cookbooks that have made it to my shelves as permanent additions in the past few years.

- I have one shelf in my bookcase that is exclusively for library books. This means I don't lose them. Well ok, I lose them way less than I would otherwise. Now because I'm a bit nutty I tend to keep unread books standing up properly and lie then down when they are read and ready to go back. That way I can grab them quickly without even looking at the shelf to see if I've read them or not. Having a shelf or another type of designated library book space is a sanity saver, I promise.

- You can request books before the library has them. When a library orders a book it usually goes into their catalogue right was as "on order" or "processing" or something along those lines. That means it's not out for circulation yet but it will be. If you know that your favourite author has a new book coming out reserve early and you won't find yourself number 543 on the waiting list (don't laugh, it's happened to me and yes I did eventually get the book).

- Don't be afraid to try different formats. If you usually only read books check to see if the library has it on audio. The request lists for audio books are usually much shorter than for print copies of popular books. Many libraries also have MP3s available through programs likeNetLibrary and OverDrive . Unfortunately not all are Mac-friendly but for those in a Windows or hybrid household it's a good option. (I also recommend figuring out if your MP3 player has a "bookmark" capability, it makes taking a break much easier.)

- Did you know that libraries frequently have book club sets? Not only can you save yourself money but you can save your whole book club money. It may require a bit of planning but it's doable.

- Work library visits into your schedule. I try not to go more than once a week (but sometimes I do). My local library holds requests for a week so that's pretty doable around here. Some libraries hold them for less time. I go every week because of the volume I read. Maybe you only need to go every second or third week. If you go on the same day of the week your books will be due on the same day all the time which makes things even easier. If you know Tuesday = library day it's easier to fit it in.

But of course you shouldn't simply take my word for it. Sheri at Living Simply and Lightly also recommends the public library as a valuable resource. As she says, the library "fits green living, minimalist lifestyles and frugality."

At Rambling Librarian, two guys discuss their 2007 reading lists and how much money they saved by using the library. Their figures are more in depth than mine but it basically comes to the same conclusion - the library saves us money. Lots of it.

Over at the Passion for Business blog Karyn recommends borrowing audio books as a way for self-employed business people to further their education.

Gigi at Simplitudes recommends making the library a family activity. You can teach your kids to save money and love books at the same time. Score!

Jessica at Low Impact Living thinks that by using the library for books, magazines and DVDs she can save $250 over a year.

So what are you waiting for? Dust off that library card and start saving money.

Contributing Editor Sassymonkey blogs at Sassymonkey and Sassymonkey Reads.