Don’t bother with public libraries. It takes too much effort to take out the books you want (because they’re usually only available through InterLibrary Loan, which takes forever, limits your check out time and doesn’t allow for renewing), and you don’t get around to them in time, and then you have to pay overdue fees.
Better to invest in a book, keep it on your shelf, get to it in your own time.
public libraries rule! in worcester you can look up a book from your home computer and have them set it aside for you to just come pick up! and if they don’t have it, you can interlibrary loan it, also from your computer, and they call you when it comes in. which takes time but so does ordering it new. also, even if there are overdue charges, they are what, $.05 a day? which is $1.50 a month per book? compared to paying $10 to have it forever even though you only read it once? plus, in worcester the fees top out at $10, so you could even think of it as a $10 a month service charge for getting to select from a massive amount of books and have them for as long as you want (provided you don’t lose them). granted some books one returns to and some are nice to have around, these are books to own. but if you get a book from the library and discover that you also want to buy it from a bookstore, you can. also, if a book comes out and you don’t have time to read it, wait until you have time to read it, then get it!