Libraries and lean living

The other day I was reminded that not everyone (even those I consider part of my closest circles) remembers that the public library is an excellent resource in tight times like these. As a library school graduate student I feel it is my duty to remind you that there are some awesome things available for FREE to you with your local library card.

For instance, did you know that you can

• RENT MOVIES at the library? Absolutely. And many libraries have the most current movies available too. Be aware, however, that not all libraries check out movies for free (mine does, but I know not all do), but even if they charge it will be a nominal fee. I've been renting movies at the library for at least 15 years now!
• Check out music CDs? Certainly! My son was surprised at some of the music I have on my computer. "Where did you get that CD, mom?" At the library! I've converted him now too!
• Use the Internet and computers? Almost every library in this country now is outfitted with computers (a lot in part thanks to Bill & Melinda Gates!), and these computers are available for you to use. You can write a letter or paper using Word; you can jot off an email or shop online; you can bring that disk of pictures and view them on a computer monitor. The only thing you cannot do, however, is check out lascivious web sites. Children may be watching!
• If you have young children, most libraries have story time and other activities for the children.
• And most valuable of all (in my opinion) are the online databases that virtually all libraries have. It's a hidden resource that not many people are are of. I was chatting online one day with a friend of mine who lives in Wyoming and he was commenting that his children, when they write a paper for school, tend to gravitate to the Internet to find sources for their papers. I told him about how his public library no doubt has access to encyclopedias, newspaper articles, and magazines and journals where his children can tap into reliable information from the comfort of their home. He was surprised to hear about it! In my library system, you simply have to go to library's web site and find the link that refers to the "online databases" (every library will call it something different) and out of curiosity I went to his library's web site and found out that their databases are not at the local library level, but on the State Library level! What a great resource for Wyoming residents!
  

Recently I posted a blog about how the economy is affecting museums and the arts. Though library funding is way down, the need for public libraries is increasing. Watch this video and see what I mean, and then get out and see what your library has to offer!:

Recalling Grandma's lessons

"During the Depression, when the spirit of the people is lower than at any other time, it is a splendid thing that for just 15 cents an American can go to a movie and look at the smiling face of a baby and forget his troubles."

-President Franklin Roosevelt

Last Friday I was mid-discussion with a group of people when the economy came up. One young adult (I'd guess she was in her early to mid-twenties) piped in and said "I still go to movies and out to eat, and I see all kinds of other people doing the same. People are still going to go out and spend money."

Perhaps so, but I would venture to guess that this gal is single, has a small apartment, perhaps with a roommate or two, and very little overhead. I would definitely guess she does not have children. I think her mindset is still fairly representative of the majority of the country. Perhaps she's right. Perhaps it is not as bleak as the mainstream media would like us to believe.

Historically speaking, during the Great Depression unemployment rates were much greater. From 1923 to 1929 (the year of the Stock Market Crash), unemployment rates hovered around 3%. Annually the rate leaped upward to a high in 1933 of nearly 25%.* If I consider my young acquaintance's mind set, that would mean that 75% of Americans were working--and out there spending money. Perhaps this is true. The movie industry at that time was enjoying incredible success. 60 to 70 million Americans still managed to patronize movie theaters weekly during the Great Depression. Stars like Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney made big money by putting smiles on peoples' faces. It was a form of escape.

Yet at the same time people were also learning to do with less, making cuts where necessary, living tight in tight times. My grandmother lived through the Great Depression. As a young, single mother, with three mouths to feed, she made do by sewing their clothing and sending her children out on the street to sell her homemade baked goods. She grew a garden and canned her food. For the rest of her life the lessons she learned during that time stuck with her. When she passed away in 1981 among her possessions were stacks of aluminum TV dinner trays, bundles of string she saved, and more bags than a person had a right to.

Our generation has forgotten these lessons of the past. We are a throw away society. I admit I'm as guilty as the next person, but I am trying to recall Grandma's lessons, and learn to reuse as I can. When I bring home vegetables from the grocery store in those flimsy plastic bags, I no longer toss them out as soon as I've emptied them. I save them to cover leftovers for the fridge, or to wrap the remainder of a home baked loaf of bread. I use the plastic grocery sacks for my lunch bag when I need to pack a lunch. I save spice jars once empty and buy replacement spices in bulk to refill the empty jars.

Maybe there are those who are still out there spending money and oblivious to the economic change upon us. There are others of us who are cognizant of the changes occurring, however, who are making a conscious effort to make due with what we have. Maybe our economy won't sink to the levels of the Great Depression, but in the meantime it doesn't hurt to become aware of what we throw away and how we might reuse it.




* For more information about the Great Depression and unemployment rates, check this site out: http://www.bls.gov/opub/cwc/cm20030124ar03p1.htm

Advertising and the economy

I don't watch television. I know, it seems very strange and almost un-American, but it's a fact. I do turn the TV on long enough to catch a little bit of my local news, and to catch the weather forecast for the day, but after about an hour (or less), I can't take it anymore, so I shut it off. We don't have cable television, or satellite. We use the old fashioned antenna to receive our local television stations--and not all of them come in. When the news came out that all televisions were going digital in February, I sent away for the TV coverter box coupon and went into Radio Shack to redeem it. The $40 coupon only covers part of the cost of the box. I was so miffed that someone is making big money on this conversion I decided against it entirely and let my coupon expire. I admit I'm a little shaky when I consider not having a television at all, but I step back in those moments and wonder why I'm feeling this way. I don't watch the thing, so why should it bother me to let it go? I suppose it is because we are all so conditioned by the glowing box. Our entire society is shaped by it. The "in" products are a result of the advertisements and constant mental barrage from the television that these products are necessary.

Have you noticed how ads in January really focus on how you look? You're fat, you have too much facial hair, you don't have enough hair on your head, you're out of shape---you must be beautiful, so buy this product to make it all better! I find myself resenting those commercials most of all. But people buy into them! One commercial that seemed to make a huge impact was an infomercial for the Snuggy. Around Christmastime my local news station was talking a lot about these sleeved blankets, and at first I had no clue what they were talking about, but then I caught one of the advertisements. I found myself fascinated by their approach--the commercial, which I'm sure you've seen, claims that with the Snuggy you can turn down your heat and save money. Now, this may not mean much to some, but what caught my attention was that this company was playing on the bad economy and the difficulties people are having just making enough money to keep their house warm. Save money by buying this product! What's wrong with the afghan you have tossed in the closet? Or the blanket off your bed?

The other day I heard a piece on NPR about how infomercials are thriving in this bad economy. It seems that as prime time advertisements--such as those for automobiles--are declining, more advertisement spots are available during the waking hours than before. Infomercial advertisers tell television execs to just put their commercials wherever there is an open spot. By doing so they can get air time for a lower rate. As a result, products like the Snuggy are receiving more viewers than ever before because they are no longer contained to late-night viewers. I remember several years ago, a time when I did watch a lot more television and had cable, I was up very late and I found myself watching QVC or another similar channel. I wasn't paying attention to the product being sold, but I was noticing how they used frenzy to sell. "Oh, there's only one hundred of these left! CALL NOW!" I think so many people are sucked in by that mentality that they think there will never be another moment to get an item like this in their life.

Interestingly, a separate, but related NPR news piece was on the radio yesterday about how the economy is affecting (traditional) advertising companies in general. What I think is happening is that as people are learning how to hunker down and live with less, advertising, in its current and past form, is not working. That, and the fact that so many companies are going under. I think that as we move forward and experience more hardships we will begin to see a radical shift in the way we do everything, and the way we experience everything.

Just the beginning

We are bombarded by "the economy." Mainstream media, reluctant to use the word "recession" has finally come around. Now we are not only in a recession, we are in a "deep recession." Daily I listen to the news of hundreds of thousands of people losing their jobs. My personal conversations center on the economy. How can we cut back? What can we do to maintain? What will happen to our jobs?

A friend of mine received word the other day that his salary would be cut by 10%. This was only two weeks after receiving a 7% pay increase. Though his net loss is not as great as it could have been had the news been delivered before the raise, his family is still feeling the pinch. As he said, "at least I still have a job." His wife has gone through the motions of cutting back. No more piano lessons, buying food in bulk, even reducing the telephone services to local calling only. In those few actions she has managed to save several hundred dollars a month--more than likely enough to make the difference of the pay cut.

Everyone seems to be doing what they can to cut back. And this has been much needed as I feel our society is so focused on consuming. Buy now and save! How can you save if you buy?

As my blog continues, I intend to focus on the ways we can save money, but also I will throw in some historical context. As a historian I tend to look back and consider the way people managed in similar circumstances. Our economic downturn has often been compared to the Great Depression. I believe we are heading into more dire economic circumstances before it gets any better. I hope to include Depression-era recipes, tips for simple living, and thoughts on how we can change our attitude toward mass consumerism.

Stay tuned!