By now, we're all used to seeing stories in the paper and online about how libraries can help during tough economic times. Sure, these days, everyone is writing about it. The Consumerist, a blog out of New York, got the scoop on all of them, though (at least for this particularly tough economic time), by posting how libraries can help out back in July of 2008.

Their post is labeled under "Frugality" and titled "7 Ways Your Public Library Can Help You During A Bad Economy." I would have simply labeled it under "Smart" and added at least a dozen more reasons, but hey, I never get tired of talking about the different ways libraries can help people out.

Their list includes:

• Getting books;
• Getting movies;
• Finding jobs;
• Etc ...

They don't mention free access to computers and the internet. They don't mention the information experts that are there to help you with ... anything. That's right, anything you can think of, because not only do librarians answer questions for a living, they actually enjoy doing it. Heck, even hanging out in the library to stay warm could save you some money, if you didn't want to heat your house all hours of the day and night. Of course, if you do this then people may start looking at you strangely, especially if you stop bathing and start sleeping in the library chairs.

The Consumerist isn't the only news source talking about libraries, of course, but they do seem to appreciate libraries a lot in their coverage, which I, in turn, appreciate about them. Some other good stories in recent news?

Check out the New York Times Freakonomics piece, "The Public Library Renaissance." There's also the Boston Globe's "The Library - A Recession Sanctuary."

If you want to keep it closer to home, we've collected quite a few links specifically about Washington libraries elsewhere on our blog, so you should definitely go over and check that out.