Nowadays, some students are easily spending $500 or more on textbooks each semester, prompting some professors to provide their new books online for students anywhere to use for free.

Since this is unfortunately not yet the norm in many institutions around the nation, in a few weeks most parents and students will need to crack open the wallet to get ready for a new semester.

Most returning students will already be familiar with the best ways to get the books they need on the cheap, but for incoming freshmen and their parents, this guide will provide a great toolkit for getting the best deal on textbooks.

The Internet has changed how we communicate with loved ones, bank, do business and otherwise entertain ourselves. It has also provided many new avenues for book sharing and swapping amongst friends and strangers; even if the technology sometimes stands in the way.

Thankfully there are several ways to share books from your favorite author with your friends or to trade for new and exciting reads, due in part to web 2.0!

Frugal for Life points out a few resources for book trading made possible by the Internet. The first is BookMooch.com, a book trading website which is based on a point system and allows you to trade with people all over the world. You earn points for entering your books and for sending out additional books.

Every business needs to bring in new customers or else become obsolete. For instance, in recent years, the knitting industry, once considered cool only if you were a grandmother, has actually managed to make "knitting circles" hip again, just by showing people how to do it. Bowling alleys have been re-invigorated as well, since they started installing automated bumpers in the gutter lanes, leveling the playing field, so to speak, for little kids, who come in droves with their families these days.

So small wonder that libraries are looking at teenagers for guidance on how they can remain relevant in the 21st century.

Thus, I'm doing my daily good deed by calling attention to a survey that the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), part of the American Library Association, is trying to encourage teenagers to participate in. It's a less than five minute survey with 15 questions that asks teenagers about their use of technology, so libraries can continue to adapt their resources to meet the next generation's needs.

So if you love libraries and know a teen, consider asking them to log onto www.ala.org/yalsa.

And I'll leave it there. See, most people writing a public service announcement would probably guilt you into telling a teen about this survey by pointing out that the educational system of the future hangs in the balance, or bringing up all of the thousands of librarians you may someday put out of work, but not me. I'm way above that.

Geoff Williams is a business journalist and the author of C.C. Pyle's Amazing Foot Race: The True Story of the 1928 Coast-to-Coast Run Across America (Rodale).

I know this might seem like a cop out for the daily deal post but, in the wake of Christmas, do you really need to go out and spend more money to buy more stuff -- even if it is "on sale"?

So my recommendation for today isn't just a great deal -- It's totally free! That's right: Your local library.

And remember, the library isn't just about books. In most towns, you can get free museum passes, DVDs, CDs, magazines, and even video games at a few. And yet, as any librarian will tell, shockingly few people take advantage of this great resource.

So make a deal with your family: Make 2008 your year of the library. Visit frequently, and make a point of enjoying one family activity per week with something you got from the library. You'll be surprised at how much fun you have, and it will help you cut back on more expensive activities.