Allow me to disclose my prejudices up front: I love libraries. Librarians are my heroes. I am so into libraries that I married a librarian. Admittedly, she wasn’t a librarian yet when I married her, but she had the look (and the book smarts).

In the age of Wikipedia, ebooks (I’m eyeing that new $79 Kindle like it’s a sexy librarian), and downloadable everything, however, is the public library still relevant?

Duh. A recent study in Colorado confirmed what librarians already know: in tough economic times, people go to the library. During the recession, library use jumped 6% to 28%, depending on which measure they looked at.

I could turn the rest of this column into an impassioned plea for library funding and the importance of libraries and librarians, but I’d rather talk about free stuff. If you have a library card, you probably have access to one or more of these free services. (The librarian in my family would like to remind you that none of this stuff is literally free; your tax dollars pay for it, just like the books.) And if you don’t have a library card, you can’t be my friend.

Ebooks and Digital Audiobooks

Overdrive Media contracts with over 11,000 public libraries to provide ebooks. You check them out via the library’s online catalog and can then read the book for two or three weeks on your Kindle, Nook, Sony Reader, PC/Mac, or smartphone. If you want a popular book, you usually have to place a hold and get in line, but that’s true of paper books, too.

Overdrive also offers a good selection of downloadable audiobooks, mostly in MP3 format, which can be played on your PC, iPod, phone, or anything else with a headphone jack.

Magazines

I’m not talking about a musty periodical section. Most libraries subscribe to Proquest, an online database offering full-text access to over 6000 magazines, newspapers, and journals, including expensive ones like The New Yorker.

My library system (Seattle Public) joins hundreds of others in offering free online access to the world’s most useful magazine, Consumer Reports. Our vacuum cleaner started acting up recently, and I was able to find CR’s top-rated upright bag-less in two minutes. The web site even offers the back-page “Selling It” column, the one that highlights outlandish product ads and packaging goofs, like the time Snow Blowers Direct was closed due to inclement weather.

Tax Help

Most library systems offer free personal income tax advice during tax season, thanks to volunteer CPAs and other tax professionals.

Ask a Librarian

You’re about to be inducted into an elite society, because Ask a Librarian is pretty much the coolest thing ever, and almost nobody knows about it.

Reference librarians have always been happy to take questions in person or on the phone – even questions like, “I’m looking for that book by that one guy.” (Trust me, librarians and booksellers get this request every day.)

But the best way to ask a librarian today is via online chat. You can initiate a chat with a librarian 24-7 through your library’s website. You might be connected to a librarian at your local branch or across the country. Why do this when you can just ask Google? Because a librarian will personally hunt down the answer to your question, Tommy Lee Jones-style, and has access to premium databases that Google doesn’t. (Such as farmhouse.com, henhouse.com…man I love The Fugitive.)

For example, my wife recently asked about an article she couldn’t find in Proquest. The librarian explained that the article was too recent and hadn’t been indexed yet, so she emailed my wife a PDF. If you’re looking for an article about a particular topic, the librarian can pop up possible hits next to your chat window so you can peruse them while whittling down the subject area.

It’s like your HMO’s advice nurse service, but you don’t have to answer any embarrassing questions.

Tools

So, Tim Allen walks into a library…

…and walks out with a coping saw and a ten-pound sledgehammer. It could happen at any of dozens of tool libraries nationwide. A tool library is exactly what it sounds like. You show ID, sign a waiver, and take home whatever heavy artillery is appropriate to your project.

The original tool library, in Columbus, OH, has over 4500 tools to lend. And let’s leave it at that, because my brain is already at work on a litany of dirty “tool librarian” jokes that nobody needs to hear.

Matthew Amster-Burton is a personal finance columnist at Mint.com. Find him on Twitter @Mint_Mamster.

Reading an unfamiliar recipe can be frustrating: What steps, exactly, do you take to butterfly a chicken? How small is a fine dice? When the recipe says, “cook until browned,” just how brown should it be?

Cooking lessons can give you clarity on all those questions, and impart skills to improve your kitchen abilities. But they often come with a price. You’ll easily spend $50 and up for a few hours of one-on-one instruction on a single food or topic, and up to several thousands for true mastery through a lengthier professional lesson or class series.

Unless you go online, that is. Plenty of sites offer great video tutorials and illustrated step-by-step instructions, helping you learn skills as varied as how to hold a knife, make meals in a hotel room, and perfect Southern fried chicken. Better yet, they’re all free.

If you want a cheaper in-person lesson, keep an eye out for half-priced offers from local cooking schools on sites like Groupon, Living Social and Tippr. Cook’s World Cooking School in Seattle, for example, recently offered a $65 class on foods such as pizza or Spanish tapas for just $30 — a 54% discount. Individual schools may offer discounts for booking early, paying for a package of classes or being a regular student. Great News Cooking Cookware & Cooking School in San Diego offers a free class, regularly $54 and up, for every 10 you take.

Six Sites for Your Next Free Cooking Lesson Fix:

YouTube

When Barbara Muessig’s 12-year-old son, Max, requested Peking Duck for a family dinner, Muessig was flummoxed. “I had maybe only had it once, and had no idea how to make it,” she says. So they turned to YouTube, which had more than two-dozen videos on preparation and carving, and watched them before and as they cooked. Wannabe chefs can do the same – the free video site boasts more than 58,000 videos tagged with the keyword “cooking.” Just search for the skill or recipe you want to know more about. Be prepared to watch a few; quality varies and some only cover one small slice of a bigger topic.

Food Network.com

Think of it like watching the cable channel on-demand, with the ability to pause and repeat your favorite stars mid-lecture. Videos pair with photos and articles to show you techniques and recipes. Many are snippets of shows, but you can’t necessarily find every recipe covered — don’t think of the site as a DVR replacement.

E-How Food

For something enticing, you don’t need to peruse beyond the homepage: videos there include “better-than-classic candy apples,” “homemade lemoncello” and “classic roast chicken.” But it’s definitely worth a search on the comprehensive site by category. “Basics” introduces skills like using a chef’s knife, blanching vegetables, and how to store food, and the rest walk you through recipes of various complexities. Rachel Ray fans will like the site — she and her “buddies” have a whole section devoted to their video lessons and recipes.

Epicurious.com

The best of Gourmet and Bon Appetit magazines, the site also offers a lot of original content. Browse video channels for technique tutorials, or search by meal type, holiday, chef and other distinction. You’ll also find plenty of linked videos and recipes for your next step (i.e., learning to make simple syrup leads you to cocktail recipes and candy-making techniques). Site users and commercial partners can submit videos, too.

Organic Authority

The site’s OATV tests vegetarian and gluten-free recipes, as well as standard fare using organic ingredients. It’s a little niche, and there are just 87 videos so far, but the videos are entertaining and easy to follow. Editor-in-Chief, Laura Klein says more video lessons are coming soon on Google+ and UStreamTV.

About.com

With 1,753 food-related videos, foodies can beef up on a range of how-to’s, including how to buy and clean tuna and making a cucumber spiral for cocktail garnishes. It’s not one-stop shopping for video instruction, but the selection of tips and recipes is broad enough that it’s worth a bookmark in your web browser.

Frugal Foodie is a journalist based in New York City who spends her days writing about personal finance and obsessing about what she’ll have for dinner. Chat with her on Twitter through @MintFoodie http://www.twitter.com/mintfoodie.

photo: cafemama 

Cooking at home is the best way to save cash, but it’s nice to go out sometimes, too. Check out Frugal Foodie every Friday for a selection of the latest coupons for casual and fancy fare.

This week: sweeten tax day with free cupcakes and ice cream pizza (yes, that’s pizza made of ice cream). Then counter the sugar attack with a free taco, half-price sushi and more!

1) Cinnabon

On April 15, Cinnabon is giving away two cupcake bites per visitor from 6 to 8 p.m. Call ahead and then get there fast — the deal is good only at participating locations, and only while supplies last.

2) Maggie Moo’s

Get a free slice of ice cream pizza from 3 to 7 p.m. on April 15 with the chain’s “E-cone-omic” Relief Package. Participating restaurants only.

3) Taco del Mar

Sign up online to get a “Free Taco 1099″ (that’s tax-day speak for a “print-out coupon”) for a free taco. Redeemable at participating locations on April 15.

4) P.F. Chang’s

Dine at the chain on April 15, and save 15% on your bill. Happy Hour specials and alcoholic drinks excluded.

5) BuyWithMe.com

Through April 14, Boston residents can get half-off the price of select sushi platters at Brookline’s Sea to You. A 64-piece deluxe platter, for example, is $45 instead of $90. The deal voucher expires Dec. 31.

6) TheDealist.com

Through April 28, New Yorkers can get a half-price ticket to Tastes of the Village: East festival on May 1-2, which offers free food at five local restaurants, including snack-sized mac-n-cheese at S’Mac and a small lobster roll at Luke’s. The $16 ticket (regularly $32)  also gets you drink specials at three other venues.

 Frugal Foodie is a journalist based in New York City who spends her days writing about personal finance and obsessing about what she’ll have for dinner.

photo: ZagatBuzz

Cooking at home is the best way to save cash, but it’s nice to go out sometimes, too. Check out Frugal Foodie every Friday for a selection of the latest coupons for casual and fancy fare.

This week: free coffee, half-price Buffalo wings, deals on lobster and more!

Dunkin’ Donuts

March 29 is your last shot at free Dunkin’ Donuts coffee. Participating locations have offered a free medium hot or iced coffee each Monday of the month. Call ahead to make sure your nearest store is among those offering the deal.

T.G.I. Friday’s

DineOutCheap.com spotted a great deal for wing lovers. Visit the chain’s bar area when one of the NCAA tournament games is being televised through April 5 and you can get boneless Buffalo wings for half-price. Participating restaurants only.

BuyWithMe.com

Through March 28, New Yorkers can spend $15 to get a voucher good for $35 worth of food at Public House, and $8 for $16 worth of cupcakes at Dessert Club and ChickaLicious, among other deals. (To get the deal, a set number of people have to buy in, so there are no guarantees.) There’s fine print, too. The Public House voucher, for example, must be used all at once, is limited to one per table of five or fewer people (two per table if you have a party of six or more) and expires on Sept. 15.

Red Lobster

Sign up for the restaurant’s free Fresh Catch Club. Members recently received a print-out coupon good for $4 off two adult dinner entrees or $3 off two adult lunch entrees. Coupon expires April 29. Not a huge discount, to be sure, but helpful enough if you were already planning to check out the chain’s current Lobsterfest menu.

Restaurant.com

Coupon code “COOK” at checkout gets you an extra 80% off already discounted gift certificates to local venues. The code expires March 31. Restaurant.com usually prices $25 certificates at $10. (Spend $20 to get $50; $30 for $75, etc.) With the discount, you’ll pay just $2, $4, $or $6. It’s a great discount, but there’s usually some fine print to watch out for. For example, Sushi Zanmai in Denver requires a minimum purchase of $35 to accept a $25 gift certificate. It’s good on dine-in dinner service only, one certificate per table with happy hour and other specials excluded. The restaurant also tacks on an 18% tip to the pre-certificate bill.

SocialBuy.com

Through March 27, Los Angeles residents can spend $20 to get a $40 voucher for 17^th Street Cafe and Bakery. The same caveats about other group-buying sites apply — the deal isn’t a given until a set number of people buy, and there’s fine print on redeeming the voucher. The voucher expires Sept. 30.

 Frugal Foodie is a journalist based in New York City who spends her days writing about personal finance and obsessing about what she’ll have for dinner.

I’m pleased to announce Mint.com is officially launching today at TechCrunch 40 in San Francisco. Our free online personal finance web-app is now open to everyone!

For those of you who have enjoyed our private beta and financial content, now is the time to tell your friends, family, and anyone who could use:

• A little financial organization.
• Free personal finance software
• Insight into where their money goes, across all accounts.
• Email & SMS bill reminders and alerts.
• Personalized savings suggestions averaging over $1,000 during our beta.

Since Mint is free, and only takes a few minutes to setup, why not pass along a good financial tip?

Private Beta Feedback:

We’ve received nearly 3,000 emails in the past few weeks with product suggestions, bug reports, and requests. We read every single one of them, and I just want to say: Thank you; you’re helping make Mint better in a very real way.

While it may take us some time to add all the banks and credit unions requested, we’re working on it. Here are some user suggested features we will be rolling out in the next few months:

• Transaction-level drill-down from the spending pie graph
• Rename / nick-name an account
• Exclude accounts (e.g. don’t show my business account, just my checking)
• Support for student loans, mortgages, and brokerages.

Keep the suggestions coming!

Bloggers & Journalists:

Thank you for respecting our press embargo. The rules of TechCrunch 40 forbade advanced coverage – any leaks would have meant being kicked out of the conference entirely! You are now free to write what you like about Mint, good and bad, screen shots and all. You can find a company background, logos, and screenshots on our PR & Blogger Resources page.

Again, I want to thank every Mint beta user for taking the time to provide such tremendous feedback. I hope Mint continues to be a product you use in your daily life. On our side, we’ll do our best to help you “do more with your money.”

Aaron Patzer
Founder & CEO, Mint.com

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