Shoppers looking to cut costs are rediscovering an old favorite location in their neighborhoods: their local library.

According to a new report from NPR, consumers are returning to the library to get more without stretching their paychecks.

One avid reader, Izzy Rivera, picks up at least one book a week from local libraries near her residence in Topeka, Kansas. She said in an interview with NPR that it “just isn’t realistic” for her to regularly buy new books as she saves up for law school.

Rivera checks out both physical books and digital ones through the Libby library app. She isn’t ruling out buying books altogether. Last month, she went to her local library’s used book sale and bought 15 books for around $20.

Libraries provide popular perks for free

There are other instances where the library provided Rivera with free or low-cost materials. For example, she watches movies on the streaming app Kanopy, which requires a library card or university login.

Her library card also provides her with free access to The New York Times online, a perk that extends beyond her neighborhood. For example, The New York Public Library began offering visitors free access to The New York Times in January if they accessed the digital newspaper while on the library’s Wi-Fi network.

Rivera said she spends a lot of time at her local library.

“It’s somewhere I can go where I’m not expected to spend money,” she said. “If I were to go to a coffee shop just to get out and do something, the expectation would be to buy a coffee, even though I probably didn’t want a coffee.”

Librarians and library-goers across the country told NPR that financial pressures are drawing consumers into libraries. The pattern is familiar to library staff: When money gets tight, demand for their services grows.

Americans are struggling to afford basic needs

Americans are cutting spending on optional items as they try to afford the necessities. A Pew Research Center report released last month found that 44% of Americans struggled to afford at least one basic necessity, like medical care or housing, over the previous year.

Meanwhile, 70% said they had trimmed spending on nonessentials like dining out and streaming subscriptions across the same time period. Pew Research conducted the survey in late August, and about 5,000 Americans responded.

Several of the nation’s largest public library systems showed NPR data reflecting recent increases in membership. More library-goers are also borrowing materials and attending events.

Maria McCauley, president of the American Library Association, said in an interview with NPR that she attributes some of that growth to “heightened awareness” of what libraries offer. 

Libraries “are especially popular right now, I think, because people are aware that everything that we provide is free or very low cost,” McCauley said. 

Shoppers looking to cut costs are rediscovering an old favorite location in their neighborhoods: their local library.

According to a new report from NPR, consumers are returning to the library to get more without stretching their paychecks.

One avid reader, Izzy Rivera, picks up at least one book a week from local libraries near her residence in Topeka, Kansas. She said in an interview with NPR that it “just isn’t realistic” for her to regularly buy new books as she saves up for law school.