There's also a similar service for renting books through your e-reader called Libby. On kobo their Overdrive service uses Libby for the same end result - renting books from your local library on your digital reader. And it's free!
this post was submitted on 10 May 2025
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I love Libby! I listen to audiobooks with it all the time.
As convenient and amazing borrowing e-books is, it's important to remember that it costs your library more because they have to renew a license on it regularly. As opposed to physical books that they buy once
However it probably shows that people are using it and will continue to get funding
And if they are borrowed, that means the library is working and will get more funding!!! Many places want to delete libraries "because they are useless" :(
My friend Anna also told me about her archive over dinner the other night; I haven’t looked into it but it sounds promising.
Wait a second...that's my Anna your talking about!
Anna is well-used. Sorry bud.
I guess sloppy thousands with her is better than nothing..😔
Giggity.
Other fun library facts:
- If you don't like leaving the house, lots of libraries let you sign up for a card online
- In addition to books, they usually have ebooks and audiobooks online, as well as DVDs and CDs at your local branch
- You should visit your local library and see if they have other things...some have video games, or kitchen/cooking equipment, there are often classes or presentations, all free
A note about the DVD and CD collections at your local library:
Rip them. While it is perfectly legal to rip media, you have taken from the library or that you have purchased, there is one technical snag: bypassing the DVD encryption is technically a civil offense. But there’s also no way for anyone to ever prove that you did that unless you create a video of you doing it and send it into the FBI.
So make sure to use that library card to its fullest potential!
Got a lot of mileage out of this in high school when mp3 players had just kicked off.
If bypassing encryption is illegal just download it and cut out the middle man.
If you don't like leaving the house..you should visit your local library
Good advice!
(Sorry, your tips and suggestions ARE all good, just had to appease my joke Tourette's 😁)
Is there a list of Libraries I can register online with if I don't necessarily live near them? Would like to expand my reach in libby.
Yeah seriously check what else your library has to offer. My library loaned me a brand new pair of Black Diamond trekking poles and I liked them so much that I bought by own pair.
Real BIB hours
There's another one free with many Public Libraries that has streaming movies and TV called Hoopla. That same service also has ebooks and audiobooks for streaming or download.
Hoopla also has a wide variety of music that can be downloaded to mobile devices for a week at a time
Hoopla also has a respectable collection of graphic novels and comics
This is what I almost exclusively use it for.
And a “binge pass” that allows access to free guitar lessons from a service called Fret Zealot
Yeah interestingly this was one of the only places that English versions of the Sailor Moon movies from the 90s series.
My library (Denver) also offers Mango, an online / apps language learning program.
Streaming of what? Music tracks? Radio stations? TV?
Generally independent films, classic movies, documentaries, are the most its used for. Lots of kids stuff though, like inspector gadget, Bob the builder, etc as well as live storybooks, storytime, etc.
I don't know if this is common, but worth looking into:
My library system offers limited free passes to local museums, zoos, childrens/science museums, etc. You borrow them like you would borrow a book.
I think lots of libraries do that. It's awesome! (Source: my last 3 libraries in New England did that.)
Be sure to return the pass on time, though. You might screw up someone else's trip to the museum if you return it late :( (that's also why they tend to have higher late fees)
YSK americans always assume everybody else are americans.
Someone else ITT confirmed this works in Australia.
According to their map, it also works with a number of libraries in Canada, England, Wales, Ireland (though no Scottish or Northern Irish libraries), Luxembourg, Bogota, Malta, South Korea (though they have placed the flag for Asia Culture Center in Gwangju South Korea somewhere in the sea south of Ghana for some reason), Dubai, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand
Some also get hoopla.
E: apparently kanopy has been discontinued in nyc.
YSK that if you have an internet connection, there's a free streaming service called Stremio, no library card needed. The only other thing you need to watch any movie or show you want is the Torrentio addon. (I'd also suggest Real-Debrid if you want faster downloads and instant streams, or you just want to keep your ISP off your ass without needing a VPN.)
The issue with Stremio is that it doesn’t keep the downloaded files long enough to be meaningful. It just caches the content then wipes it afterwards. It’s basically super-leeching and refusing to seed, which makes the torrenting experience worse for everybody. If everybody used Stremio, nobody would be able to. Because it relies on healthy torrents, but doesn’t actually do anything to maintain the health of those torrents.
I think you can edit cache settings so you can seed at least more
Always good to have some legal options, and the more they expand, the better.
Still, torrenting shouldn't go anywhere indeed.
I don’t have that service in Germany. Why do you think I should have that in Germany?
In Chile there's https://www.bpdigital.cl/ for borrowing digital books.
Whoa, thanks for that. I'm looking for years for a book that had a single edition in our country, it's impossible to find and they have it. I will try my poor Spanish on it.
My library also offers a membership with Flipster (magazines).
Just confirming this works from Australia (Dandenong Library).
I get Pressreader access with my library. Gives me access to newspapers and magazines for free, which is pretty good. Especially for overseas things which are otherwise quite difficult to get
LinkedIn Learning formerly Lynda is free with library card.
Kanopy looks like they use Widevine DRM. I will continue using other DRM-free sources.
Had it a few years ago, and they do have some good content, but it didn’t seem like it got refreshed very often. Definitely, some Oscar nominees in there though.