My library account grants me access to a bunch of courses on Udemy. Saved me a ton of money.
this post was submitted on 21 Jul 2025
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Huh, I'll have to look into that
I haven't personally used a library in a very long time, but, having spent a sizeable portion of my youth reading, I have such fond memories of my mum taking me and my siblings to libraries when we were young and poor.
Genuinely one of the most beautiful things that exists in society. Free knowledge, available to anyone and everyone, with no expectations of payment. I read somewhere that if someone came up with the idea of a library in today's world, it would never happen. The fact that libraries exist in the modern world in spite of the commercialisation of everything, restores some of my faith in humanity.
Having fun isn't hard when you have a library card.
My local library gives me access to newspapers and magazines delivered to my devices electronically every morning; movie streaming services; audiobook accessibe on my phone and - my favourite - they even have equipment loan, so if you want to borrow a hedge strimmer, rice cooker, embroidery machine, car jack, wallpaper steamer, etc, you can. That's to say nothing of the services I don't use, like arts classes, training courses, yoga sessions, etc. People pay hundreds every month for services freely available at the library.
This sounds like one of the easiest ways a person can give back to their community. I think it's brilliant and will remember to share this advice to people for the rest of the time that we have public libraries (which might not be long, given the way things are going).
Check out the Libby by Overdrive app! It give you access to the e-books, audio books, articles and I thiiiink.....podcasts too now, but I could be wrong. It uses your library card to connect to your home library branch!
I have library cards in three different states.
The town where I live doesn't have any libraries, and the next town over requires that you prove you live within their city limits to get a library card. 😑
Also basic document print/photocopy for dirt cheap.
Having a library card has saved me in the past when I've needed to print something last minute and my printer wasn't working.
I've also made use of digital magazine subscriptions with them in the past.
Always worth checking out what other services they have, you might be surprised.
Ours has a telescope and park passes available to check out. I really like the arts and culture classes they put on for the community too. They’re so much more than books.
My last library was.... Not great. Mostly because of the town it was in, not the librarians.
New one is amazing - 3d printer, maker classes, painting classes, museums and multiple online educational tools for kids....
Even a play area for under 8 with puzzles and nooks for them to read in. The one in town when I was a kid is bigger, and had a larger nonfiction/adult section by far, but this one is amazing for the teens and under, even graphic novels, mangas, etc available. I'm glad my kids have this library available to them.
Edit: And just to mention, youngest is too little to read yet but enjoys the learning play there. Oldest is reading 2 books between each trip, 2-3 times a week. Such a great resource, wish it was as good everywhere.
I started reading more a couple years ago - like a lot more. One day my wife (who paid the bills) said "I don't want to discourage you from a healthy hobby in any way, but I want to make sure you know that you've spent close to $300 on books in the last few months. I had not realized it was that much. I started looking into alternatives and someone here on Lemmy mentioned the Libby app. I live in Los Angeles county and it turns out I'm legitimately allowed to have an LA city library card, an LA county library card, and a San Bernardino county library card (theirs are available to anyone who lives in the state).
I got all three and connected them to the Libby app. When I search for a book, it will check all the libraries I have cards for. So far this year I've read more than 50 novels (well, a few of them were novellas, but a few of them were really long novels, so it balances). I'm a big fan.
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Libby for audiobooks.
Kanopy for movies / plays / ballet productions.
Hoopla for music / TV / comics.
Maybe your library has a streaming or podcast setup. 3D printers. Laser cutters.
Or cooking supplies to borrow. Video games. Vacuum cleaners. Laptops. Wi-Fi. Car maintenance tools. Whatever.
Libraries are the best.
My local library does first-come passes for local parks and museums and the zoo. They're only valid certain days of the week, but it's great for kids who might otherwise just not have access to those because of money.
Yes! Telescopes, Mac Books, free terminals for internet access. And a bunch of kick-ass people who really know their stuff and work there because they genuinely love to help ALL people.
My local libraries rule. I bet yours do too.
My local library has Nintendo Switch, they have 3d printers you can use and classes you can take, tools you can check out, the books are great but it's basically like a whole new world in there.
It is what organizations should be, if everyone wasn't busy trying to upsell you to the $25/mo tier all the time.
libraries are both proof that anarchism could work under the right conditions AND a great place to meet anarchists
Anarchists are against public ran and funded libraries.
If anarchists got their way there would be no state to run the public library
You could make the argument that something like "free little library" or just people supporting the idea of neighborhood free libraries is proof
But no true anarchist is going to be happy paying taxes to a state for the state to decide what books are available to them.
that's the desired end target, yes, but we're realists. we view our role in the world to pull the levers of power we have access to to get to that end target. libraries are repositories of free knowledge, tools, and entertainment. you'll encounter a lot of anarchists arguing that we must immediately disband the police, but almost none arguing we must immediately disband the library.
so in our current place of existence public libraries are proof positive that the collective sharing things is a good and natural positive and that charging money to just exist isn't a positive. librarians are also as a whole very dedicated to helping people develop knowledge and skills that help them navigate the hellscape we're all forced to exist in.
you say no true anarchist would support a public library, i say no effective anarchist is that dedicated to purity.
You can't call yourself a communist and only want socialism.
What you're describing is libertarianism
Limited government control (Against Anarchy). Highest personal freedom (For Anarchy).
Both anarchists and libertarians would argue that the people would fund a "public" library if the government didn't. That has not been tested.
anarchism is a flavor of libertarianism, yes, contrasted by anarchocapitalism by its belief that money is a form of theft and power. i believe in the dissolution of the state and the removal of capital power. in the places this has been attempted all at once it has failed miserably. the key is to take a wide view look at everything and to at all moments act in accordance with what would get us to the desired end target of a stateless, cashless, egalitarian society where everyone's needs are met not for economic incentives but instead for social benefit. the goal, effectively, is to learn the lessons of pre-colonial societies and then implement those lessons to create a post-colonial society.
A libertarian who decides they want no government control is an anarchist.
If they want limited government control they are libertarians.
They are similar but differ on a key issue, government control. And that's the biggest issue for anarchists.
If I say I am an anarchist it means I do not want the government in public libraries at all.
Now if you need to rip the bandage off fast or slow is debatable, but there is no debate on if the bandage needs to come off completely for an anarchist.
If I say I am a libertarian it means I want the government limited in public libraries.
Again, how fast it needs to change is debatable.
They both rely on the goodness of the people rather than a government. They both share pretty much the exact same ideology, other that anarchists are for "No Authority" and libertarians are for "Limited Government"
Personally, I don't think a public library would exist in today's world without the government.
You want me to donate money so people who cannot afford books can go and check out physical copies of books they can look at digitally for free?
I'm better off donating to a homeless shelter or another cause.
Libraries are only good for homeless and poor now because we currently do not give them better options.
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Fuck yeah libraries.
Mine has a "this is how much you've saved using the library instead of buying this fiscal year" segment on the receipts. Last year was around $1600.
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They even have board games.
BOARD GAMES.
I found out recently that my local library does a board games thing on a Saturday morning.
I think there's another in the same county that does D&D but I might have imagined that.
My kids grew out of their switch. I got a card and played all the games I wanted for free. It was amazing
Video games, cricuts, tool kits, baking pans, calligraphy sets, sewing machines, yoga/tai-chi classes, etc, etc, etc. Libraries can have a million things and you’ll never know until you come in and find out.
also because i've heard some horror stories of people not getting library cards because they didn't understand the social contract of libraries: "rent" isn't the word most of us use because "rent" implies you fork over money to use the resource. libraries lend. they let you have the media, or the knowledge, or the entertainment and only expect that in return you use it to enrich your life. that through this interaction you become a little more wholly the person you were always meant to be
I do everything I can to support my library. They are such an important resource. I also like e close to a good library that let's you not only check out media, but also let's you check out board games, power tools, cake molds, seed, and even neckties.
In some places making a personal copy of media is allowed as long as the media is acquired in a legal way.
Lending a dvd from the library is a legal way to acquire media for a short duration of time.
Put the results in jellyfin and enjoy your own personal Netflix where content is reliable and chosen by you.
Watch from outside home using a vpn.
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