I am, tragically, deep in the delights of audiobooks, new games, etc. etc., such that tearing myself away to write this post was an exercise of will. But! They raise an excellent point. Most of my distractions at the moment are a product of our library’s Summer Challenge, and my participation therein, trying to finish enough items by the end of July to win prizes, and completing the per-household Bingo card for chances at more! This has done exactly what it was intended to, and forced me to take stock of what library resources I’m not making full use of yet. Here’s what I’ve learned:
-Your library likely has a staggering amount of online resources! Ebooks and audiobooks, yes, but also potentially music, movies, TV shows, and ours even offers access to Great Courses! Which are well-regarded, but definitely expensive.
-Along with checkout resources, there are databases for language learning, practice written driver’s tests, and information resources for finding books you like! These will vary wildly depending on your library, and they’re definitely worth getting to know.
-There are back corner sections of physical resources you had no idea exist. I checked out a how-to-read-Braille kit last year, because Experience Kits were on the Bingo sheet. We have physical media for audiobooks, board games, and a not-zero amount of video game cartridges – I didn’t even know there was a Lego The Incredibles game!
-There’s a good chance your library’s digital media covers more languages than its physical media does. If you’re looking for practice, e-media is your friend!
-The library program usually has something neat going on. That may seem obvious, but I periodically forget to check and then surprise myself by the summer concerts or presentations they’ve got going on. There really is something for everyone.
-I can’t speak for anyone else’s regions, but if you’re in northern Illinois, it’s worth checking to see if your library partakes of the Explore More Illinois or Museum Adventure Pass programs, both of which can get you admission and/or discounts to a whole host of local attractions. We checked off that Bingo spot by going to the Ellwood House Museum in DeKalb, which I may write about separately. It’s a great way to find museums you didn’t know existed!
I adore our library and make use of its resources constantly, and I’m sure it still has features I don’t know. So take a moment, and see what you have to work with!
At some branches of the Chicago Public Library (where I live), you can even borrow fishing poles!