890
Items at some libraries:
- Kill-a-Watt voltage meter
- Radon detector
- Telescope
- Microscope with slides
- Board games
- Cooking appliances
- T-Mobile-powered, infini-data hotspot devices that can fit in your pocket and provide Internet
Also 3d printers
True, and even a Cricut at really well-off ones!
You can rent a kill-a-watt??? Thats dope as shit
Fr I bought one used it for a week and now it's lying around
My cousin uses the library to get art to hang on their wall. Good stuff too, their library's got a good curator.
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People are baffled when I say I use the library. They're brainwashed by big tech to think that "no one uses that now" . Pretty frustrating since its the only 3rd space left and people are trying to get it shut down (why should MY taxes pay for that!! We have INTERNET ).
I hate people.
I think "borrow" has a bad connotation in the US. Like: "beg, borrow or steal". But people should remember that it's theirs, they paid for it with their taxes, they're just sharing it with others.
Interestingly enough, not really happening in my country. You're sorta expected to get the mandatory reading books from a library in school... And later on in university, it's a place to hang out and study together.
Maybe adults outside of academia don't use them much (I don't), but I think people generally see the value in them.
I collect library cards like other people collect Pokémon cards. The more I get, the more audiobooks are available to me through apps like Libby.
I have five library cards with 3 subs to Kanopy and 2 to Hoopla. I actually prefer Libby to anna’s archive or other alternative methods. If anyone has sneaky methods to get more…share them please!
For anyone who cares here is a list of the largest e-book lenders that I found when I was library cards hunting. If you are in one of these areas—get a library card!
The top 10 ebook and digital audiobook-circulating library systems for 2020:
- Toronto Public Library
- Los Angeles Public Library
- King County Library System (WA)
- National Library Board Singapore
- New York Public Library
- Multnomah County Library (OR)
- Seattle Public Library
- Hennepin County Library (MN) - 228/63
- Harris County Public Library (TX)
- Calgary Public Library (AB, Canada)
The top 5 ebook and digital audiobook-circulating consortia and shared collections:
- Wisconsin Public Library Consortium 126k total
- The Ohio Digital Library
- Greater Phoenix Digital Library
- Tennessee READS
- Digital Downloads Collaboration (OH)
To add to this:
-
Mid-Continent Library in the Kansas City Metro has the biggest selection that I’ve seen in this area (Kansas and Missouri). Idk about Wichita or St Louis.
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You can sign up for the KC Library, Johnson County Library, and Mid-Continent Library card online if you live in an area it covers.
-
You can get a Johnson County Library card if you don’t live in that area, but you have to go in person to sign up.
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There are also quite a few libraries around the US that will let you sign up regardless of where you live if you make a donation.
If you happen to live in Berlin, Vöbb's digital subscription is 10 euros year but it gets you things like statista and pressreader that would would cost hundreds of euros per month combined.
And if you don't it's possible your local library also has a similar offer.
A well run library is an amazing thing.
My local library is right next to a couple schools and, in the afternoons, functions as a really wholesome third space for a fair number of kids. Both free and hopefully inspires several of them to get into reading as a hobby.
Even if I didn't use the library, that would be an excellent use of my tax dollars.
A lot of them come with free access to Kanopy or Hoopla which are streaming services with movies and TV shows that you log into with your library card
Hoopla also has comics and uses a guided view type of reader.
Shout out to my local library. Manchester Central Library.
Even has pianos you can play with headphones.
1.6M+ book and volumes. Also holds our records for Manchester going back to like the 1200s. Truly beautiful place and great to just wonder around.
Some even have 3D printers
Libraries are theft. A person reads a book and the same book is given to another person! Libraries, on average steal [arbitrary number] from publishers.
- Post sponsored by Elsevier
\s
I made once the dumb mistake of getting my library card right before moving to another city, and never ever checked if it's valid or repurposable since (three years now).
Well, time to fix that!
Yeah do that! They are free and I have a collection of library cards from every place I have lived. You never know when you will be on the run from the law and need to, I don’t know, read a book or something.
As neofascism is going worldwide, chances are if I have to run from the law it's going to be because I read a book! XD
But yeah, totes doing that likely this Friday, since I'll be around the place anyway.
They aren't free everywhere
That’s true. My answer was US centric. But if you are on the run from the law and want to expand your mind, what better place to do it than the US?
Someone reposting this like a year ago actually was what got me to get mine. Now I use Libby and get audiobooks etc from the library, it’s pretty sweet and was all free.
For some reason all 5 libraries in distance of me close at 6pm and I work until 9pm so yeah.
Register online if you can.
my local library recently introduced a library of things and they've hit a fucking homer. It's all either things you need for like 2 weeks out of 5 years (like a machine for laminating paper), expensive hobby stuff you can try out before you drop your own cash on it (like sewing machines or button makers) or full-on throwing a rager equipment (like a karaoke machine). It is such a perfect mix of things to get on a library model. If I ever win the lottery or something I'm buying them a whole makerspace department with staff and all the equipment you could dream of.
Some places will issue library cards if you work in the city but don't live there just as an fyi.
Some systems let you check out and sync to an e-reader too, kobos work with my system but I think there's other ways to get then on there.
Found so many of my favorite CD's there in high school. Crystal Method, Linkin Park, Silversun Pickups, Breaking Benjamin, Three Days Grace, Creed, Stone Sour, Train, Daft Punk.
Our local library aside from books provides spaces for making things
Our library was an awesome source independent and foreign films. They were perfect shape bc so underused. We took out 10 at a time.
Damn I can't believe people have this and don't take advantage of it. As someone who lives in a developing country, even in a big city we don't have the concept of a public library. I can't even find books I want anywhere and shipping costs more than the book itself, which is huge if you factor in the difference in currency. I just read digital books now but it's tricky especially for complex philosophical books where you want to go back and forth. Paper books make engaging with complex books easier.
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this post was submitted on 05 Aug 2025
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