Library worker here and can confirm all of these! I’m at a small-to-medium library and we offer ALL of this:
- wifi hotspots that can be checked out for weeks so you can have internet on the go or at home
- CDs, DVDs, blurays including usually multiple copies of new stuff
- A tech lab with a 3d printer, computers for graphic design and game dev focus, VR headsets, and a soundbooth for recording
- Study rooms for solo or groups
- Printers, copiers, faxes, and scanners for just about anything you need taken care of.
- Including a new printer big enough to make giant posters, maps, and business-grade ads.
- A seed library, both floral and food-related.
- A computer lab programed to erase your data and reading history so you’re never at risk while visiting sites like domestic abuse hotlines
- Laptops pre-programmed with Adobe and Office software so you don’t have to buy them
- Ebooks including comics on tons of various platforms
- Classes for those who want to learn how to or better their computer skills
- Art you can check out to hang on your wall for as long as it’s available, including the work of local artists who get paid for their art, especially if it gets popular and we want even more of their stuff.
- Monthly papers ranging from local newspapers to multi-national magazines on just about any topic you can imagine.
- We used to offer food and drink at a loss but You Know ©
- Notaries with extensive legal knowledge including renters rights, getting you in contact with immigration protection, and contacts with pro-bono lawyers.
- A connection with all the libraries in the state, so if we don’t have something, we can have it shipped to you within a matter of days.
- Books translated into multiple languages
- A donation bin for old books/DVDs/VHSes that often turn around and get sold for two or less dollars
- A food donation site for local food banks
- A “suggest a purchase” section on our site where you can support your favorite indie writers/musicians by suggesting their work if we don’t already have it
- We’re growing butterflies this year, and in prior years we hatched chickens! \o/
- An outreach program for the elderly and disabled who hand-deliver almost everything I’ve just mentioned
That’s a huge list and again I have to stress that I work at a library that’s not considered to be very large. And one of the biggest things we get rated by is not how many books we own but by how many people use all of those services I mentioned. They exist for YOU! Use them!
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