Karen in America

與在中國不同，在美國上學的學費中并不包含課本的費用，因此，購買或租借課本也成了在美留學的一項重要開支。當然，大大小小的公共圖書館也為學生們提供了便利。就讓我們隨著Karen一起去看看美國的圖書館吧！

If you decide to study abroad， you can’t get away from reading a lot as part of your assignments. Unlike in China， where textbooks are included in the tuition fees， college students in America must buy or rent their textbooks every semester. The cost of textbooks varies， depending on the courses you sign up to. Yet， a student can still easily spend a couple of hundred U.S. dollars on textbooks. However， there’s a way to save your money. You may borrow the required textbooks from your local library.

In most American cities， there are great public library systems. Don’t overlook this public facility that enables every resident and even foreign visitors to study for free. In some areas， public libraries share information resources with local universities. So university students， for instance， can access these vast public library resources free of charge， from reading materials to attending workshops. This is a big relief for many loan-burdened American students， who support their own education without financial help from their family.

A good public library system， usually not only provides readers with current books， periodicals and newspapers， but also allows users to access digital information at home or at their nearest branches. As more and more people prefer reading e-books using digital readers， such as， smartphones， iPads and Kindles， many public libraries in America are now upgrading their technology to meet with the demand. Readers can borrow and download e-books directly online. Again， it’s free. All you need is a valid public library card and your electronic device and the Internet.

When I was a graduate student in America， I was lucky enough to borrow books from a public library in Pittsburgh. At first， it amazed me how fast I could get a book. If it’s not a popular read， I usually can get it within a week after I request it. And if it is a popular read， you have to wait for your turn. Generally， you can’t renew a popular read so that the book can reach more readers quickly. And what’s more amazing is there are quite a few library branches in a city or in an area， so I can go to any branch that is near me to pick up or return the books. With the help of the library website， I can manage my library account anywhere.

I’m really thankful for the public library near where I live. In China， I had to buy the bestsellers to quench my thirst for knowledge. Now， however， I’ve read most of my favourite books for free， through going to my public library. If you’re studying in America， you really should try this awesome， free， public facility.