Although I have given this information a few times in postings, I thought it best to post this as a separate topic.
USE YOUR LOCAL LIBRARY'S INTERLIBRARY LOAN PROGRAM TO GET THOSE QUILTING (and other) BOOKS WITHOUT HAVING TO BUY THEM FIRST. I cannot tell you the thousands of dollars I have saved over the years getting books through interlibrary loan programs. If I really like the book, it goes on my Christmas Wish List or I buy for my library.
Quilting is not INexpensive, and with books costing between $23 and $29 each on average, so much money is spent (lost, wasted) on books that turn out to be not-so-useful after having bought them and spent time looking them over. Even with a return policy, you still have the heartburn of having to return them and you're still out the (ever-increasing) shipping and handling.
CONTACT OR VISIT YOUR LOCAL LIBRARY TO CONFIRM IF THEY HAVE AN INTERLIBRARY LOAN PROGRAM. I haven't found one yet that doesn't, but there's always room for the exception. This service is not advertised widely, and it used to be limited only to doctoral candidates and grad students. So many library systems offer this service to all library card holders now, and the majority of library systems have this service online.
(1) GET THE FULL TITLE OF THE BOOK, AUTHOR, YEAR OF PUBLICATION and ISBN NUMBER or as much of this information as you possibly can. I look up the books on Amazon.com for this.
(2) GIVE THIS INFORMATION TO THE LIBRARY WORKER who will put in the request for this book through their interlibrary loan system.
(3) IF THE BOOK IS AVAILABLE, THE LIBRARY WILL CONTACT YOU (typically) WITHIN 2 WEEKS OR SO. Sometimes there is a fee associated with the book, but in all the years I've been doing this, I've never had to pay one. EACH LENDING LIBRARY HAS ITS POLICY ON HOW LONG YOU CAN KEEP THE BOOK, sometimes 2 weeks, sometimes up to 6.
(4) FYI - most libraries can process the requests ONLY if the book is more than 6 months old. But even if your request is denied/cancelled because the book is too new, make a note of this and try again in a few months.