Your library card can do more than you think
The digital perks you probably didn't know about
During this pandemic the Point Roberts Library has been taking special precautions to keep everyone safe when it comes to loaning out physical media, but this is also the perfect time to take advantage of library services that carry zero risk for infection, those being their free digital services.
Here’s a list of everything you get access to as part of the Whatcom County Library System, including a short description of what they include:
Ancestry Library: An extensive genealogy resource
Washington Anytime Library: ebooks and audiobooks
Britannica Library: Reference material aimed at children and young adults
Chilton Library: Vehicle maintenance and repair guides
Consumer Reports: Helps you make informed purchasing decisions
Creative bug: Arts and crafts classes
Freegal: 15 million songs
Kanopy: Documentary/movie streaming service
Library Elf Notification Service: Library reminders for what’s due, overdue, and ready for pickup.
Lynda: Online courses on a large variety of subjects
Mango Languages: Learn languages
Newsbank: Archived newspapers
Novelist: Book recommendations
Proquest (CultureGrams, eLibrary, History Study Center, SIRS Discoverer): Resources for students
RB Digital: Digital magazines
Reference USA: Data on tens of millions of US and Canadian businesses
Testing & Education Reference Center: Practice tests for students of any age, as well as citizenship and basic skill practice tests.
Value Line Investment Research: Investment data
All you need to access these services is a library card and a computer with wifi. If you don’t have a library card, you can get one sent to you by visiting wcls.org. Links to the content can be found at https://www.wcls.org/digital-content/.
While a number of these services are specifically meant to be accessed with a library card, there are also a few that would otherwise require a paid subscription. For example, a premium subscription to lynda.com would cost a whopping $37.50 per month. A Kanopy subscription costs $150 a year. Mango Languages costs $17.99 per month. Creativebug costs $7.95 per month. Consumer Reports costs $59/year.
Together that makes over $80 of value every month for free. Why not take advantage of it?
