Library Card Freebies
Trips to the Museum
Organizations like RAD Pass in Pittsburgh connect library cardholders to their region’s cultural attractions and museums for free. Your local library may give patrons access to galleries, gardens, zoos, museums and institutions. radpass.org
Audiobooks and eBooks
Want to read a book on your tablet without paying for it? All you need is a library card and Libby, a free app that taps into your library system to offer thousands of ebooks and audiobooks for a specific loan period. Read across any device or stream audiobooks through Apple CarPlay or a Bluetooth connection. Available in the App Store and on Google Play
WebAccess
For anyone in need of internet at home or on the road, many libraries, including the Chicago Public Library, let cardholders check out mobile Wi-Fi hotspot devices for certain periods of time.
Investment Savvy
Many public libraries have a subscription to the otherwise fee-based Morningstar, a database with real-time investment research, global market data and analysis.
Language Lessons
Language-learning can be daunting, so why not try it for free? Through thousands of public libraries in the U.S., you can access Mango, which has online resources for all ages and in more than 70 tongues. mangolanguages.com
Award-Winning Entertainment
Moonlight, Lady Bird, Parasite. Those are just a few of the Oscar-winning flicks available on Kanopy, an on-demand streaming service with a vast collection of free movies and TV series for library partners. kanopy.com
Career Assistance
Ask your library about its career services, which may include LinkedIn Learning subscriptions (for expert-led online courses), job training, résumé help or a just a place to hold your Zoom interview. The New York Public Library even has a fashion-lending department, where interviewees can borrow ties, briefcases, suits and more.
A Music Library
Sift through Hoopla, another library media service that allows you to check out movies, TV shows, books and comics while also offering downloadable music. hoopladigital.com
News to Use
PressReader subscriptions, an all-you-can-read platform of more than 7,000 newspapers, magazines and educational publications, are free for many library cardholders. pressreader.com
Gardening Advice
Seed lending programs have become popular for library-goers, no matter their horticulture knowledge. Borrowers “check out” a packet of seeds, plant them, harvest them and eventually return seeds for future lending. Next, 9 of America’s Most Beautiful Libraries
