It’s crazy how no one knows how good their library is. I guarantee you anyone can find something at that their library that would benefit them. My family are huge connoisseurs of libraries. Yes, we’re readers, but we don’t just get books (though, we do get a lot of books). We also get children tablets—these things are made by Playaway specifically for libraries. They’re leveled, they only have learning games on them. There are reading ones, math ones, interest ones (there’s a dinosaur one my library has that’s just all about dinosaurs). We use them for movies (yeah, you might just stream everything. But what if you want to watch something specific and you’re services don’t have it? You really going to pay Amazon $3.99 to watch it when you could get it for free from the library?). We use them for graphic novels. We use them for Nintendo Switch Games . Yeah, you heard me right. One of the libraries in the Wichita Metro has video games (they have Xbox, and Playstation as well). And we’re not talking old games. They get the new stuff too. We’re talking Kirby and the Forgotten Land. Elder’s Scrolls. And again, this is a library. So it’s free.
Free.
If you like movies your library likely has an awesome collection. Every location I go to has a new release section, that has the new stuff that just came to streaming (maybe you have the service it’s on, maybe you don’t...but the library has it…for FREE!).
They also have events all the time. I did a local author event at the big one in Wichita over the summer. Sold some books. Met some other authors. I had a ball of a time. The one in Derby has stuff for grownups constantly. They do BYOW events all the time (bring your own wine). They do yoga stuff. Book clubs. Movie screenings (watch scary movies for free with other horror fanatics on a big screen). The Wichita one has weirder (but useful) stuff a lot of times. They had a carpet install class that I saw advertised on their giant screen that advertises events (this is also how I found out about local author day).
So, maybe you’re thinking, “Gosh, Kenneth. That’s cool and all, but it’s really not practical. I need stuff delivered to me. I can’t run around to all these different buildings to get stuff for free. Amazon has trained me to need it delivered to me.”
Have I got news for you.
If you’re library is as awesome as mine is (and it may be) they will deliver your holds to the library closest to where you live. There’s one three and a half miles from my house (8 minutes with two stop lights). I drive through the drive-through window, they scan me my card, they give me a bunch of free stuff I ordered on their site.
“But, Kenneth. You only get it for like two weeks, right?”
Wrong. Most media from libraries you get for 4 weeks. And you can renew most media for an additional 8 weeks. Yeah, I know it’s crazy. It’s crazy that you’re not taking advantage of this amazing service your community provides for you that you help fund through your tax payments.
Start taking advantage. Go do it right now.