I LOVE the library and I hope you will too after reading this. It’s such a powerful resource and I think it’s a little underrated.
You can get so much more out of your local library than just taking out books.
Please keep in mind though that I live in a fairly big Canadian city, so what I have access to here might be more (or less!) than what you have access to. If you don’t have access to the physical items, you may still have access to the digital ones.
Disclaimer: I live in North America, so these resources may not be available everywhere. Hopefully, where you are, there’s even more!
Here are some uses you may have not thought of:
- Physical DVDs, Audiobooks, CDs, Videogames
This one may be the most straightforward of the items on the list, but in case you thought physical books were the only types of media available at the library, look out for Blurays, DVDs, Audiobook CDs, Music CDs, and Videogames!
Some of my earliest music discovery experiences were from browsing the CD section at the library beside my high school. I discovered the Artic Monkeys “Favorite Worst Nightmare” album and they’re one of my favourite artists to this date.
Back in the day, most people consumed music with iPods and you could usually download the tracks from a CD to your computer, and then load it onto your iPod. The same trick somewhat applies now 😉 - E-books, Audiobooks
There are a couple of ways to get e-books and audiobooks for free through your library (yes, no more audible subscriptions)!
I discovered an app called Libby (formerly Overdrive) and my love for the library was completely renewed. I went for outdoor walks almost daily and was craving longer content to keep myself occupied on longer walks. Free audiobooks were a perfect solution.
In Libby, you can use many filters, but I like to set it for “Audiobooks”, “Available Now”, and sort by “Popular”, so I don’t have to wait to borrow an audiobook and I’m at least somewhat likely to find something good or that I’ve heard of if it’s popular.
Another amazing feature of Libby is that it’ll auto-return your books, so you can say goodbye to late returns.
You can also borrow e-books through Libby, but they’re not all available to be read on a Kindle. You can read some on Kindles and Kobo though.
You can also download e-books and audiobooks directly through your library website; they may be easier to sync with your devices (plus, a little birdie told me that with this method, you could make a copy of the file from the folder you downloaded the book to and then can keep it indefinitely 😉).
For Manga and graphic novel lovers, don’t forget that these are available as e-books too!
- Stream Movies and TV and Music (Kanopy and Hoopla)
Can you believe you can stream movies from your library for free? The selection is not always the latest and greatest, but you can find some great indie items on there and occasionally more popular movies. Just don’t expect something like Netflix or Disney+ catalogues, but remember these are free!
Once, I was on a mission to satisfy my craving for nostalgic media and I was looking to watch the TV Show Class of the Titans. I saw that it was available on Kanopy, but the Google preview was out of date it seems because it was no longer available when I logged in (or not in my region anyway).
Through Hoopla, you can also stream music albums. Your library may offer some package with them like 4-6 streaming credits per month.
Tip: If you use a VPN, you MAY be able to switch your country to view content not available in your region 😉. Some streaming sites now block this type of behaviour.
https://www.kanopy.com/en/
https://www.hoopladigital.com/home - Free Recipes
While researching for this post, I came across recipes, which I wasn’t expecting at all. I liked this because I usually go to a recipe book or to random online recipes from Pinterest, but this link I found offered local recipes by local authors and that’s pretty special.
https://www.eastcoastrecipes.ca/home - Board Games
This was a harder one to find on library websites, but SOME offer board games you can borrow.
https://uottawa.libguides.com/games_and_gaming/collection - Magazines/Newspaper
Another physical (or digital) media you may not have considered as something you can procure through your library is magazines and newspapers. These are not as popular in print anymore, but it could be handy to use your library for your favourite subscriptions to avoid a paywall.
Overdrive/Libby are also options for getting electronic versions of these.
You may get access to a PressReader subscription for example, which would give you access to a large catalogue of magazines. - Printing/Photocopying
Most libraries offer printers and photocopying services, which is great if you don’t have access to a printer at home and you don’t need to print things often (and let’s be real, nowadays, it’s getting rarer and rarer that we actually need to print things).
Some library cards will come with free printing up to a set limit (ex. $5.00)! - Computer and Internet Access
If you don’t have easy access to a computer/internet or you are caught without it when you’re far from home, libraries usually have computers you can access for free with your library account.
https://www.halifaxpubliclibraries.ca/technology/public-computers-devices/ - Meeting Room Reservations
If you have an interview coming up or any call really where you need a quiet space, many libraries offer meeting rooms you can reserve for this purpose. It can also be handy if you’re working from home, but you need a change of scenery every now and again (or maybe you have some noisy renovations going on).
https://smcl.org/room-equipment-reservation/ - Digital Services (like converting VHS to DVD, music editing)
I thought this was one of the most unique things I came across. I know people who have bought or rented equipment to do this very thing. It’s amazing that you can borrow it from the library FOR FREE. Especially if you’re doing a 1-time task of converting all your old VHS tapes for example. It’s not worth the hassle of figuring out what to do with the device once you’re done.
Music editing software is not cheap, so I can see how this can also be a great resource for people starting out with music production.
https://biblioottawalibrary.ca/en/music-editing-and-vhs-conversion-stations-cumberland
https://biblioottawalibrary.ca/en/music-editing-station-ruth-e-dickinson
I hope you’ve enjoyed this list and that you learned something new about your local library. Maybe you’ll start to love it as much as I do if you don’t already!
I will be sharing another post with EVEN MORE things you can take advantage of from your library. This one was getting a little long 🙂
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