Livingston Library’s ‘Clever Idea’ Gets Some Love From Famous Actor

LIVINGSTON, NJ — “What a clever idea.” This short social media post about the Livingston Public Library made by famed actor George Takei on Tuesday ended up with a big online response from people who love books – and saving money.

Takei, whom many people know for his iconic role on Star Trek, was resharing a post originally made by Ames Grawert, senior counsel at the Brennan Center’s Justice Program.

The purpose of Grawert’s message? To shine a light on the “value of public goods like the library.”

Takei and Grawert shared a photo of a receipt that patrons at the Livingston library get whenever they check out books. The receipt includes a note about how much money patrons have “saved” by having a library card – which can add up to hundreds or even thousands of dollars per year.

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Danielle Cesena, head of technology and community engagement at the library, shared some background about the now-viral post.

According to Cesena, the receipts are processed through the Bergen County Cooperative Library System (BCCLS), which includes Livingston among its 78 member libraries in Bergen, Essex, Hudson and Passaic counties. Each of these libraries informs their patrons how much they are saving in a given year and over their lifetimes.

The library has been using this imaginative method of self-promotion for eight years or so, Cesena told Patch.

“Many libraries decided to add these calculators to their receipts to give their patrons a tangible dollar estimate of their savings through using their local library,” Cesena said. “We want them to know their tax dollars invested in the library will give back to them many times over!”

Cesena said that library visitors have responded to the receipts with “surprise and delight.”

“We have a patron who insists on printing each receipt on checkout just to see how much she has saved,” she said.

Checking out books and media isn’t the only way to save at your local library, Cesena pointed out. For example, the Livingston library offers free museum passes for local institutions in New Jersey and New York to cardholders.

Looking for a pressure washer? Need a mobile hotspot? The Livingston library also offers these items and more through its Library of Things collection.

If the response to Takei’s post is any indication, Cesena isn’t the only one who appreciates the value of a good library. As seen online:

• “My library does this and I love it! I think it's so clever!”
• “I love my library. I used to go there all the time. Now that I'm pretty much home-bound I was able to download their Libby app so I can download books to read on my iPhone. So I still love my library.”
• “I saved thousands using my local library since I'm a gamer and have borrowed plenty of games for free from them over the years.”
• “When my wife and I moved away from a city that we lived in for four years, one of our last receipts like this said almost $4,000. She borrowed a LOT of books.”

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