8 Things You Didn’t Know You Could Do with Your Vigo County Public Library Card
This is a sponsored post, but our love and praise for the library is 100% authentic! I like to joke that we are the library’s best customers. In the not-too-distant past, I had 97 books checked out on my card. (Fun fact: there’s a 100 book limit per card.)
It’s the one community resource we think EVERYONE should have –a library card! If you’re already a fan of the Vigo County Public Library, this may seem like a no brainer. But are you truly using your card to its fullest potential? Check out some of our favorite library “hidden gems”!
8 Things You Didn’t Know You Could Do with Your Library Card
1.) Check out Life-Size Board Games.
The library’s life-size board games are kind of a big deal. To find this particular game in the catalog, just search for “Connect Four Life Size.” It’s FREE to borrow with your library card!
2) Bring home a fun “kit”!
We’ve found color sorting kits, engineering kits, and food/nutrition kits that span a variety of ages and interests! You can search the library catalog for for these by selecting “kit” as the format option.
3) Score a hard-to-find book using the Interlibrary Loan.
I used to think the library’s interlibrary loan perk was useful only to students and researchers who need obscure textbooks and manuals. But no! We use this service ALL the time. Through Interlibrary Loan, we currently have the young reader’s edition of Trevor’s Noah’s book Born a Crime, a hard-to-find historical fiction series for our pioneer fan, and the newest book in the Mysterious Benedict Society series. These books are loaned to us from other libraries, because our library doesn’t have them on its shelves. Coming my way soon: a holiday book that I’ve had in my Amazon cart for ages. This service has no doubt saved me hundreds of dollars in book purchases.
4) Listen to or read books with Libby or Hoopla.
I recently shared this picture (below) of our book-filled home with the caption: “E-books, audio books, and printed books–they’re all books, and they’re all good.” On weekend afternoons (while our little ones are napping), you’ll most often find our big kids reading on the couch. They all prefer printed books, but sometimes it’s easier to get an e-book (like my ten-year-old when she wanted to read the new release of Radium Girls: Young Readers Edition) and our five-year-old spends hours listening to audio books (her current favorite series is Whatever After).
We have kid kindles, and the girls can access tons (and tons and tons) of books for FREE using their library card number and apps like Hoopla, Overdrive, and Libby.
5) Watch a movie or listen to music.
Of course, downloadable material goes beyond e-books and audiobooks. Hoopla is a great option for streaming movies or music.
The Hamilton soundtrack? Don’t mind if I do.
6) Use the library’s printer.
Our oldest daughter has a project coming up about Marie Curie. And guess what? We were out of color ink! During the pandemic, the library will print FOR FREE. They’re even mailing the printed pages to our house!
7) Let your personal librarian find your new favorite book or series.
At the height of our summer isolation, we were desperate for reading material. I submitted the girls’ reading level and interests via the Personal Librarian form, and we were amazed by what the library staff found for us. (See an example of one haul in the picture below!) Tech gadgets, classics, early readers, and a series or two that was long enough to sustain the big girls for at least a few days!
8) Take advantage of curbside and delivery.
When we checked out that ginormous game, I needed help! I pulled up, called the curbside number, and the wonderful staff helped to deliver the bag to/from our car.
Of course, what we usually use curbside for is books!
Not able to get to the library? No worries! The library delivers. Yes, THE LIBRARY DELIVERS. Free delivery of free books might be the closest I ever get to being treated like a VIP, and this service is free to anyone with a library card.
If you don’t yet have a Vigo County Public Library card of your own, here’s what you need to know to sign up:
Bring photo identification with a Vigo County address to the library. Wrong address on your ID? Bring an identifying document such as a utility bill or lease to prove where you live.
Kids can have cards but a parent has to sign for it. You are never too old or too young for a library card!
Problems with your account? Come in and talk lending staff about previous fines or lost/damage items.
It’s clear we love the Vigo County Public Library! Before you go, check out the other articles we’ve written on the subject.
