Best Free Service

All you really need to get a Denver library card is a pulse. From the day of your birth forward, you are eligible to rent materials, free of charge, as long as you bring them back on time. But while books are the primary draw at the library's Central Branch, smart card carriers know to make an additional stop in the audio-visual room, where a nice selection of videos and CDs is there for the borrowing. The titles aren't all scintillating -- there are plenty of instructional oddities on everything from building a deck to speaking Mandarin -- but plenty of gems hide in the slightly haphazard shelves. The library's foreign- and classic-film sections rival those of the mega-chain video stores, while classical-music connoisseurs will have reason to cheer in the music aisles. Best of all, there's no need to worry about those whopping late fees if you don't watch your flick in two days: Films and discs are checked out for one week. Don't make it a Blockbuster night: Get thee to the library!