Tips for Building Your Library on a Budget

If you are like me, and your childhood dream was to be like the Disney Princess Belle with an endless castle library filled with books, then this post is for you! As we grew up and began collecting books, we soon learned how much building a library can cost. Over the years, I have learned ways to build my library without breaking my bank so here’s a list of tips to help you build your library and knowledge on a budget.

1. Public Library Resources: Although this may not count as “building a library of our own”, utilizing our public library’s resources are extremely underrated in today’s day and age. You can have free access to knowledge, however depending on your location and the demand for the book and how niche it is, there may not always be access available to our most favorite witchy or occult books. It never hurts to give it a shot though and see what is available!

   
   

2. Looking up free PDF’s of the text you are searching for: Most times we assume we have to spend money to find specific information, and many cases we do. But for the few exceptions, you can find already available information published. My advice for this is to be careful of downloading from suspicious websites (don’t want to download any viruses) and also, be aware of piracy. Sites such as oceanofpdf.com run off donations and can help add to your collection. Do what you will with this knowledge.

   
   

3. Online Books and Book subscriptions: This particular one has helped me tremendously since I wasn’t able to bring my entire bookshelf abroad. (Crying in book worm) Kindle has many options available, and a lot of times at a cheaper price than physical copies. You can utilize Kindle Unlimited which gives access to a wider range of free kindle books for a small subscription price. You can check specifically if the books you are wanting are available with Kindle Unlimited before purchasing anything. Sometimes it can be worth it to have access to 20+ books at a time for $11.99, rather than to buy one book for the same price. Do what makes sense for you. Other platforms offer similar subscriptions services, again just be aware of the websites offering these subscriptions and make sure it is a reliable and reputable service/platform.

   
   

4. Ask your community: Although our friends or family may not always have the most witchy and occult gem finds (if you are a solo practitioner) it never hurts to ask your community to see what kind of resources are available to borrow. Even if you have a witchy friend, it never hurts to ask them about a specific text or book recommendation. They may know where to find this book, and maybe even for a better price than just buying it outright.

   
   

5. Renting and Buying Used Books: This one isn’t always the most fashionable choice, but many times during my undergraduate degree I’d only rent or purchase used materials if possible, since the texts were 3X more expensive brand new. A used book is better than no book, and may even have notations from the previous owner.

   
   

6. Trade/Barter for Books: Again this one emphasizes groups and communities, but if we rely on our communities and better build resources we can scratch each others’ backs. I fully believe the hater system should be revived. But that’s my personal opinion. This works well with other book worms to swap books for the week/month. Book clubs are a great resource to make book worm friends!

   
   

7. Audio or Videos: Not all books are easy to read through, especially dealing with religious texts, and other esoteric topics. When I find myself re-reading the same sentence over and over again like a vegetable, I switch to audio books, podcasts or YouTube videos. This is great if you have ADHD. YouTube can be a great resource for already free accessible audiobooks. This may not always be feasible for every historical text, but it certainly can help build your knowledge by listening if you aren’t able to read it. A quick YouTube search of “{Title of book} free audiobook” never hurts.

   
   

8. School and Work Resources: I emphasize this one, especially if you are a student. There are programs and events many schools and employers offer to have access to resources (such as books). Never hurts to ask a staff member or look on their website to see what is available for students and employees. Students may often receive discounts for “school” resources as well. So keep that University card with you at all times ;)

   
   

9. Search for your Favorite Practitioner's Pubic Collection! Many experienced practioners such as myself already have a plethera of resources available via platforms such as Kofi or Patreon. Often times, they will have reading sources available with a small subscription fee of $1 or $5.