Bad news, everybody. Due to cuts in federal funding to libraries through the Institute of Museum and Library Services, a service that costs 87 cents per person, we are for sure losing access to 21 databases on July 1st, wait times for ebooks and digital audiobooks through Libby will likely increase, and services like the Commonwealth Catalog have been threatened.
On the other hand, we’re each saving 87 cents! What are some things you can do with 87 cents? Let’s do some basic math:
With 87 cents, you can…
- buy a first-class stamp for 73¢ and get 14¢ in change 87¢-73¢=14¢
- print this puzzle to the library’s printer eight times and keep 7¢* 87¢-(10¢×8)=7¢
- purchase two individually wrapped full-size Sour Blue Blast Airheads at 35¢ each and get 17¢ back 87¢-(35¢×2)=17¢
- make 62 wishes by putting 62 pennies in a wishing well and keep a quarter in your pocket for situations that call for a coin toss 87¢-62¢=25¢
- after carefully reading the reviews, get seven of your friends to put their 87¢ toward a group purchase of a Hutzler 571 Banana Slicer for $6.44 for all your banana slicing needs and still have 52¢ to split among you (1+7)×87¢-$6.44=52¢
If none of these things appeals to you and you’d just as soon have federal funding reinstated, visit this page on the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners’ website and have a look at the section in the lower right labeled What You Can Do.
We hope you enjoy this month’s puzzle.
* You can print to our printers from home by visiting https://mhl.org/webprint. The cost to print or copy in black-and-white is 10¢ per page, which hasn’t changed since 1967. Color is 40¢ per page.