The Scarborough Public Library card is small, yellow and oh, so valuable. The card gives you access to books, movies, audiobooks, magazines, music CDs, museum passes, high-speed Internet access and reference databases. The library sets no limits on how many items can be borrowed at a time, so active users can easily save hundreds or even thousands of dollars a year by borrowing from the library what they otherwise would have purchased.

Many investors are familiar with the Value Line Investment Survey. Use Value Line at the library or access it online from home for free, as one can through the MARVEL! databases and save $538 – the price of an individual subscription. Also borrow one book ($12.50) and one DVD ($4 rental) a week for a year and save a total of $1,296, enough to buy a well-equipped laptop computer or a round-trip airplane ticket from Portland to Hong Kong.

Municipal property taxes largely support the Scarborough Public Library, which is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation. The owner of a house in Scarborough valued at $300,000 pays $4,400 in property taxes, of which $63 is allocated to the library. With one visit to the library, a taxpayer can easily recoup that $63 assessment. By borrowing three books ($37.50), one audiobook ($10), one DVD ($4 rental) and one Children’s Museum of Maine pass ($12) from the library, a taxpayer will have saved enough money to offset the taxes paid to support the library for an entire year.

Every resident and property owner in Scarborough and every employee working in town at a Scarborough business is entitled to a free membership at the Scarborough Public Library. September is National Library Card Sign-up Month, and the Scarborough Public Library encourages you to become a member and discover the value of a Scarborough Public Library card.

Catherine Morrison

Adult services librarian

Scarborough Public Library