Yes, we’re unsatisfied with our cable provider. Yes, it’s practical to have all our favorite films delivered to our doorstep in handy red-and-white envelopes, sans late fees. But what are a few paltry inconveniences when we can get our DVDs for free? Being perfect, law-abiding intellectuals, we eschew the rogue tactic of free downloading and instead choose to regularly borrow movies from the BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY. With skill and patience, you can search their online catalogue and put indie flicks, the entire first season of Freaks and Geeks, and BBC dramas on your own personal hold queue and have them delivered to your local branch. (The BPL online catalogue is a medieval online nightmare; the path you seek is: “Explore the Catalogue,” then “Advanced,” enter your title, then specify “DVD” under format.)

When you stop by to pick them up, may we be so bold as to recommend a stroll through the fiction section? We’re not trying to force anyone into anything, but many an awful movie is based on an astonishingly good book.

THE BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY | 700 Boylston Street, Boston | 617.536.5400 | bpl.org