Save Money -- Use Your Library

Your local library should be one of your best friends.

This is especially true if you spend any time reading or doing research about personal finance and investing.

Problem is, most people don't take advantage of all the resources that libraries offer.

If you haven't visited a library lately, you may still think they are just a place where you can borrow books. In reality, they have moved well beyond that in recent years and have embraced the digital revolution -- to the point where it has caused friction with publishers.

That means libraries can offer a huge amount of information to help you with personal finances and investing. Here are a few ways the library can do this:

Access resources from home: The first assumption that you may have is that you have to physically go to the library to take advantage of its resources. This is no longer the case. Many libraries now offer 24/7 access to their databases at your home -- for free.

The databases available vary from library to library, but most carry digital back issues of popular magazines (including business, investing, personal finance and trade magazines) along with a wide variety of research, newspapers and encyclopedias that are not available on the Internet. The best part is it doesn't cost you a dime. All you need is a library card and your home computer with Internet service.

Each library's database access system will work a bit differently so your best bet is to contact your local library's reference desk to see exactly what is available and how to access it from your home computer.

Subscriptions: Again, what different libraries offer varies, but many have free access to online subscriptions services that don't get indexed in search engines and aren't available without paying a fee. These can include such things as e-books, music and downloadable audio-books. It may also include Web site content from magazines and newspapers that are subscription-only over the Internet.

Investment research: If you research your own investments, the cost of relevant newsletters and periodicals can run into the hundreds of dollars. Many times these publications have important information that is difficult for an individual to afford. These may very well be available at your local library for free, and more and more of these are also becoming available online.

If your library doesn't have the research materials you want, you can request that they purchase them. While budgets can be tight, you may be surprised at how willing most libraries will be to work to help you get the periodical you desire, especially if you can get a group of friends or investment club members to make the same request so they know there is community interest.