George Herman Ruth was wearing Yankees pinstripes when he hit a homer in this undated photo. If you want the lowdown on the curse of the Bambino and other baseball lore, come to the library.

AP / FILE

With gasoline prices skyrocketing and family budgets in disarray, attending a Major League baseball game this summer may be out of the question. What’s a fan to do?

Your local library, a very cool place, has a superb collection of books, videos and DVDs that celebrate America’s favorite summer pastime. Read a biography of a Hall of Fame legend. Entertain yourself with tales of World Series triumphs. Investigate your favorite team’s history, or the history of the game itself. Consult baseball card collection guides. Brush up on baseball jargon so you don’t get thrown a curve ball. Whether you’re a member of Red Sox Nation or a Yankee fan or you root for a faraway home team, you can read about baseball in air-conditioned comfort all day long at the public library. The price of admission? Free!

Head to the Children’s Department where the selection of baseball books is out of the park. Does your child want to know all about Big Papi or A-Rod? How about baseball legends like Hank Aaron or Babe Ruth? You and your children will be spending extra innings at the library exploring the many fiction and nonfiction books on this popular topic. Even our furry friends love baseball, with perennial favorites Arthur and the Berenstain Bears all stepping up to the plate.

Adults will find baseball-themed books in just about every genre. You can slide into mystery, biography, history, even short stories. Why not catch the hot new books about your favorite player? Take a tour of Fenway Park or Yankee Stadium with the Wise Guides Fan Navigator series.

Don’t know much about baseball and fear you might strike out when the talk turns to pitch counts, designated hitters and squeeze plays? Baseball for Dummies, by Joe Morgan, or Baseball Talk for Beginners, by Joe Archibald, will teach you the ABCs of baseball, from RBIs to ERAs.

Confirmed (perhaps obsessed?) baseball fans might want to expand their knowledge with The Baseball Encyclopedia: The Complete and Official Guide of Major League Baseball. Love baseball and Rhode Island? Skip Tuetken’s Rhody Baseball Roots: Rhode Island-Born Big Leaguers is sure to be a huge hit, quite possibly a grand slam or walk-off home run.

In addition to the literally hundreds of books about baseball you’ll find at the library, numerous videos and DVDs highlighting this great American sport are available for you to take home and enjoy with the whole family. Your library card, arguably the most important piece of plastic in your wallet, will allow you to check out Angels in the Outfield, Rookie of the Year and more.

If you want to teach your children the sport’s basics, Little League’s Official How-To-Play Baseball will be the coach. Die-hard Red Sox fans (you know who you are!) will not want to miss Red Sox Baby: Raising Tomorrow’s Red Sox Fan Today. The Green Monster is nothing to be afraid of.

Sorry. You can’t play baseball at the library. You can, however, immerse yourself in the sport’s triumphs, controversies and legends. Come see for yourself what an amazing impact baseball has on the American imagination. You’ll swear you smell peanuts and Cracker Jacks.

Patricia Jempty is on the staff of the West Warwick Public Library. She claims that she once pulled off an unassisted triple play.

Library notes

The Rhode Island Blood Center will hold a blood drive Wednesday, Aug. 27, from 3 to 6 p.m. in the Louttit Library, 274 Victory Hwy., West Greenwich.

A reunion of those educated in the West Greenwich One-Room Schoolhouse will be held at the library Friday, Sept. 5, from 4 to 8 p.m.

To register, call (401) 397-3434.

The book discussion group will meet Tuesday, Sept. 16, from 1 to 2 p.m. and Thursday, Sept. 18, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. to discuss The Fiction Class, by Susan Breen.

Items for this column may be e-mailed to wbnews@projo.com, faxed to (401) 277-7227, or mailed to The Providence Journal, West Bay Bureau, 75 Fountain St., 3rd floor, Providence, R.I. 02902. You can reach us at (401) 277-7090.