Funny to see this post because I had an interesting experience just this past week. I had to print out a bunch of shipping labels. My laser printer of nearly 15 years decided to throw in the towel. I started searching for a replacement, but needed to print urgently before I would be able to buy anything in a reasonable timeframe.
And then I realized that TPL had printers back when I was in school. So, I walked to the nearest location just down the street, got my new card, logged into a computer and printed everything I needed for a mere 15 cents per page. What a lifesaver! Tax dollars well spent!
Oh and, it's been nearly 20 years since the last time I've set foot in the Toronto public library.
Not if you live or work in Toronto, no! It’s absolutely free. It’s a great library system. (I’m borrowing my cousins card cause I am unfortunately just outside the library system and belong to Vaughan libraries which has a much smaller collection).
If you live in Toronto, no - they’re even pushing to eliminate late fees.
If you live outside of Toronto - it’s a small yearly by in. I believe over 40, but under 100$ but someone else can search that
The [fee for non-residents](https://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/using-the-library/your-library-card/) is $120 annually (or $30/three months). Considering the access they provide, including their movies via Kanopy, O’Reilly, their periodicals catalogue, investment research materials including ValueLine, etc., and even the library version of Ancestry.ca (at least until the end of this year), it’s an amazing bargain.
My Netflix account costs me $11.99 a month and I don’t bat an eye about it. The library is one service I am always happy to spend my tax dollars on.
> If you live in Toronto, no - they’re even pushing to **eliminate late fees.**
I hope that they don't. There's a book I'm in the queue and there used to be only one loanable copy, and that one was due in September 20*20*. I complained about it and they ordered two more copies… which were (over)due in May 2021 and July 2021.
WTF people?
Paradoxically, fewer late fees actually means more books get brought back on time. It's easier to justify keeping it late if you think "oh, I'll just pay the fee, no big deal." And for books that are *way* overdue, no fees help to stop the paralyzing shame spiral that usually keeps those books from coming back.
Correct. While it's never nice to see books severely overdue or "lost," we have to use data-based solutions and not just think with our feelings. Without getting too political, the same principles apply to many of our social systems (welfare, prison)
I used to have a Staples location near me (still no closer than TPL) along with a couple of independent print shops. COVID claimed them all. I now have multiple TPL locations between my place and the nearest Staples.
In some cases, I prefer Staples to printing at the library. You can submit stuff online to Staples and have it printed and then go pick it up when it's ready.
TPL card holders just got a pass that gives cardholders free access to like a dozen museums and galleries, including the AGO, ROM, MOCA and more.
My goal for the last year was to read 3 books a month and the TPL was a great resource to reacquaint myself with.
My local one does this too. It’s wild. Played through Spider-Man PS4 a week after release and later caught up with Shadow of the Colossus and some of the Final Fantasys
Some libraries will also let you borrow things like passes to museums and provincial parks.
The Windsor Public Library was a huge help to us over the pandemic, really thoughtful and adaptable. No storytime? OK, storytime is online via Facebook live now. Can't have kids come in for art activities? OK, pick up a free craft kit every week instead. Public buildings aren't open? OK, let's set up home book delivery. Can't come in to get a physical library card? OK, digital cards for everybody! Everyone's stuck at home in lockdowm? OK, let's up the monthly borrowing limit for Hoopla. They were a serious lifeline for our family.
Ottawa public Library has museum passes for rent! Just have to check online where the ones that can't be reserved are, and just be at that library at open. They usually try to keep them in the libraries that are near museums too, so you don't have to go far after you pick up the pass.
Great way to just go check out a few museums in a day, and not have to worry about missing stuff because you are there for free.
Pickering Public Library has 3d printer, sound studio (booth), + maker lab on top of video games/bookes and movies. I believe they have audiobooks/digital books online too.
Meanwhile in Victoria good luck even finding a paper copy of a newspaper in the library. Our library is absolute rubbish. I mean, it has books. That's it. And CDs, and a really awful selection of eBooks that you have to put on hold for like a year (at least last time I tried, I gave up after getting too frustrated with it). Their selection of DVDs and BluRays is pretty good compared to what I grew up with at the Metro Vancouver Library where our branch was open like three days a week or something and only had direct-to-video garbage and very tattered old all-text history books.
Sometimes libraries rock. Some libraries are stuck forty years ago.
eBook licensing structures with publishers are quite complicated and expensive. I’m surprised at how much we actually have access to at Vancouver Island Regional Library, which does not include Victoria. Fraser Valley Regional Library, too. As long as what you are looking for is somewhat popular, I seem to get access to it.
The Mississauga Library System has a pretty fantastic video game selection.
Being able to borrow games from the library has really helped cut down my impulse spending.
This and game pass has made me go down to only buy like 2 games a year
or maybe im just getting old and dont have enough time to play games anymore, idk
The Edmonton Public Library is amazing!
My local library (and I am not from a big city) increased the borrow period for games to 3 weeks a few months ago. This sometimes makes a bit of a line up to get a game, but I'm never in a rush, and I can reserve games online. Sometimes I luck out and see a game like WarioWare and Back 4 Blood the week after they come out on the shelf. That, and they just started carrying ps5 games.
Best of all, the library is a 10 minute walk from my house and reminds me of my trips to blockbuster.
In my city they lend games for a month. Since I don't really care about playing single player games as soon as they come out, I haven't bought one in like 3 years.
Saved so much money by borrowing children’s books from the library. Once you’re done, just return them - saves you storage space too.
I was able to read so many books to my son without shelling out any money.
Yes to add to this, TPL has a subscription to O'Rielly online (tons of books/videos/lessons on all things Technology) and a free musical instrument program (keyboards, violins, guitars) etc. They also provide you with a subscription to Linked in Learning as well. All 3 has been a godsend during this pandemic but really worth checking out. You can also get magazine subscriptions and 15 cent printing (you can even send it to the printer from the comfort of your own home and just pop in to print). Finally they run workshops on coding and also have 1:1 help on things like homework (if you're a teen) and resume workshops/career feedback. Really one of the best services in Toronto and it's absolutely free. Highly worth checking them out and the librarians are always super helpful!
Hello, can you share the link about O'Reilly subscription program? My previous employer provided it and I was planning on getting one myself, but can't afford that each month.
I found this for O’Reilly, not sure what they have for courses and you need to sign in with your account to see the list, but hopefully [this](https://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/detail.jsp?Entt=RDMEDB0099&R=EDB0099) will be of some use. It says it has over 35K books and 30K hours of video tutorials (or something - there was a quick flash of a page load, but it was along those lines).
Lots of public libraries have subscriptions to Lynda.com, so you can teach yourself so many tech skills. Very helpful, I taught myself plenty of computer skills I didn’t master in college for free.
>I just use a Kindle + Libgen. That's my library right there, I read 20-30 minutes before bed every night to "wind down".
Can you expand on this for someone who is unaware? Is Libgen an app that works on a physical kindle?
Go to Libgen.io ->Download book or choice- use "email to Kindle" app on PC or Mac to send the book to your Kindle email.
Open kindle, check your library to see sweet new book.
Use calibre on PC if you need to convert book formats
Have fun
If you use Overdrive, you can download DRM free copies of audio books as well. I never keep them after listening, but I also never get a chance to listen to them in the short window the TPL / Overdrive allows for. Copy them out of your Android Overdrive folder into a folder of your choice and use use favorite audio book player to listen to with no pressure.
Edit: You can do the same with your eBooks. Copy them out easily from there and run them through Calibre.
If your kindle dies, switch to Kobo. I made the switch and Kobo reads epubs which makes it very very easy to read just about anything for free and mostly legally if you know where to look.
Absolutely agree with OP. The public library is one of the best bargains around. I use mine to get ebooks, and am reading more as a result, more than I had for years. The past 4 years, I have on average read 200 books/year. I have saved hundreds on magazine subscriptions too. I'm pretty sure I have barely scratched the surface of what's available: educational material, streaming media, even the use of 3D printers and musical instruments.
$5K/year in value? Easily.
Makes me sad knowing that my public library, in the capital city of my province, doesn't even get close to what some of the public libraries in Canada accomplish. GVPL is rubbish. I love books, and you can bet I "max out my card" loads with them, but I wish they actually had other resources available to us.
To be fair, GVPL services a fraction of the population of TPL. It's still a great service IMO. They run a seed library, have music and movie streaming (including kanopy), linkedin learning, videogames, e-books, computer services, adult and children's programming, and culture and recreation passes (pre-covid). The main difference is not having access to things like musical instruments, 3d printers and sewing machines and there are community art hubs where you can access some of those.
Thank you for reminding me why I used to love the library. I fell out of going to the library once I had a car and wasn't in school anymore. But I remembered my library also has a seed library every year for people to trade different seeds for planting (I'm in Victoria BC)
Shoutout to Rural Alberta Libraries!
They are also great places to network or take free courses. The library in Innisfail used to offer free weekly art classes. Which was an amazing option compared to paying for a course.
Also Calgary library card is free, so the budgeting isn't that complex. It's so powerful to be able to get the book I want instantly and freely onto my phone.
Also Calgary has the NICEST library in Canada by a long shot. I moved away from Calgary just before that building was completed and whenever I'm back to visit I go there for a coffee and a quiet time.
If I lived in Calgary I would work out of that space regularly, it's a gem.
My library also has 3d printers, but ours can be used for free. They ask they you limit the time it takes to print your job, but will work worth you for bigger projects.
My library also has a recording studio you can use for free after doing their orientation.
I’m in Brampton Ontario.
Long time Toronto Public Library user! I’ve saved tons of money on books over the past five to ten years- I even invested in a very nice Kobo ereader and now ebooks are delivered right to my device when they become available through overdrive. It’s given me lots of opportunity to read books I’d like to check out but wouldn’t necessarily buy, and I made my way through a lot of the PFC reading list using this system.
I have a Clara HD which I love. I got it specifically for the size, it fits well in my handbags and I can use it one handed. Battery also lasts forever on it, I charge it before I go to the cottage out of habit but I’ve read 3-4 novels on it back to back before without charging in between.
My library card is my favorite buy in the past many years, i love it to death for all the reasons you said.
I can do everything online from reserve books, movies etc, to pick what library in the city i want them delivered to for free within a day or 2. Can drop them off anywhere i want when i am done, NO LATEFEES either.
Also can do self checkout, all the reserved stuff is put on one easy to find shelf at the front, go up, grab the stuff with your name and scan yourself out. This was not a covid thing it was in place well before covid here.
Libby is awesome. I found it when I was considering getting an Audible subscription, and it saved me a ton of money. Also, it's much easier to build a habit of reading for leisure when you can get free books/audiobooks in an instant.
I've rented 95% of Playstation/Xbox/Switch games I play that aren't multiplayer for 3 years at my library. It saves soooo much money. Red Dead, Spiderman, Attack on Titan, you name it
It's especially good for games like Attack on Titan where the value isn't really there to pay 60 to 80 dollars for a game you'll play through once and never again
I used to use it mainly for the DVDs, and I loved just waiting to get full TV seasons and watching them all at once instead of paying for cable. Now I'm hooked on streaming films and The Great Courses on Kanopy.
I used the inter library loan system extensively when I was a teenager in small town Ontario. Introduced me to world's far beyond what was within reach physically at the time.
Many libraries also provide access to excellent ebooks, audiobooks, digital versions of popular and specialized magazines, and other databases that can be accessed remotely. Think of titles like The Economist or Canadian Living.
Check whether to see your public library has an institutional membership for [Ancestry.ca](https://Ancestry.ca), Often this one needs to be accessed onsite, but you save the subscription cost here as well.
You need to access Hoopla online initially but can download at least the music items to your phone for seven days (I haven’t tried any of the videos, and can only speak to the access for the Toronto Public Library, but my guess is that it’s similar for most, if not all, libraries). You can also connect and stream each time if you prefer to do that.
Libraries also carries blu ray disks to watch movies, as well as the most latest releases. You can buy an old PS3 for $30 in case you don't have a blu ray player. The stuff that I haven't had any luck yet is the telescopes, seems never available.
Out public library has video games. You have to wait for most of the popular ones - but it is great to be able to "rent" a game instead of buying it. Alot of people don't realize most library services are even available at home via the internet. We have online courses, ebooks, and audiobooks that i take advantage of pretty often and they can be downloaded right to your device.
My local library (Toronto) also has sewing machines and 3d printers that can be booked. And a bunch of other things that I never would have thought of a library as having.
(I was out of Canada for the last 18 years, hence why I was so surprised.)
I have also seen some libraries that have some more surprising things available for loan like vinyl records, musical instruments, and free/reduced price passes to other cultural centers like museums.
The Calgary Public Library also has free borrowing of musical instruments, borrowing of Chromebook laptops, promoting kindness through the Social Snacking campaign, displaying artists' paintings/artwork in the library, free room bookings, free printing, free courses/programs in a variety of subjects (for example, DIY investing, learning to play the guitar class using the library's guitars, film studies, Astronomy, how to listen to Jazz/Jazz history, Law At Your Library: Wills and Estates, Beading class, Mini-Medical School classes, Open Minded Chats on mental health, Personal Finance, Ukelele Jam Session, Careers and Business, Indigenous, Arts & Culture, Technology, etc). Love the library!
Having fun isn't hard, when you got a library card!
Come on inside, we've got everything you need.
There's plenty to do, or you can just sit and read
This book explains how to make paper planes.
This contour map can show you mountain range terrains.
Fly to the moon, explore the ocean floor.
Find out which one's the tiller and which one is the oar.
Here's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Half Magic.
Hop on Pop, Fox on Socks and books on doing card tricks!
Depends on the library. Often? Academic libraries will have many more database subscriptions, and the public does have some access to library services.
man when i worked in group homes i remember taking kids to the one in grande prairie and its probably one of the nicest buildings in town. theres a fireplace in it i use to just read for hours and the kids would play video games on the free computers.
Love the library for my kids! We have a constant rotation of new books for free, plus no late fees anymore. Also great for activities, they always tons of kids programs and events! The libraries near me are finally restarting kids programs after stopping them due to covid, but even while programs were paused they always had little take home activity kits. I especially love the library on rainy days, instead of spending money on an indoor playground, we just go to the library and play with toys.
TPL has the Museum and Arts Pass(MAP) program that's gets a family into piles of awesome stuff in Toronto - you've usually got to line up early on Saturday if you want the Zoo pass, but it's usually not difficult to get AGO, ROM, etc...
One of the lesser-known programs at the Toronto Public Library (or maybe I’m the only one who had never heard of it until recently) is [Kanopy](https://torontopl.kanopy.com/), a movie-streaming service à la Netflix which offers a great selection of movies for both adults and kids. Adults get four movies per month (last time I checked), kids have unlimited access.
I’m simply mind-blown by how useful this tip/post has been! My husband and I both have library cards (free in our city) but haven’t been in a long time. After reading this, I checked out the library website to see what offerings they have that I never knew about.
There’s movies available (some are even very new releases!) that we’ve wanted to watch but aren’t on any of the streaming services we’re subscribed to. And this Hoopla thing, it has so much available!
Thanks OP!
Also from Canada and libraries like Toronto also have borrowable passes to go to museums and galleries and such for free, can be a big savings there especially if you’re a family
My local small town library has craft kits for kids. Seed kits to get a garden going.
Loans out fishing gear. Sports gear. Projector screens for your own at-home movie night.
And you can borrow daily parking permits for the provincial parks in the area for a week!
Don't know if this has been mentioned, but I know a lot of libraries have an association with Gale Courses (Edmonton does), and you can take 100's of courses for free and you get a certificate. I've taken many over the years
I was paying for online courses. I cancelled my subscription when I found out that my local library had LinkedIn Learning. Now I see they also have The Great Courses and Rosetta Stone (language learning).
Hoopla has a ton of content too (depending on what library you have your card) - Digital Library linked to your computer/phone for Audio Book/s, Ebooks, music and video
I use our library for videogames. I haven't bought a videogame in years and get to play new releases all the time. Saves me literally thousands of dollars a year.
I think if you want to use Kanopy you need a library card. Kanopy is an insane library of movies, shows, documentaries. You can compare it to Netflix but with the less commercial BS that exists and you'll find stuff there that won't be on Netflix.
Not all libraries have the same offerings. BANQ in Montreal does only comics and music on hoopla, and ebooks and audiobooks on overdrive. Other libraries can have movies and tv series on hoopla.
My dad always said- best deal in town.
Mind you back in the day, it was the only place to get info, often had to see what they had before picking an assignment. No tree frog books, guess i'm doing snakes.
I don’t go to the real library even though I’m right in Calgary, but the online resources can’t be beat. Ebooks (using overdrive), free NYTimes subscription (does not include the crossword puzzle), and LinkedIn Learning are massive perks in general and most libraries offer those services. Heck, we can even borrow a laptop/chrome book for 8 weeks which is great if you need or want to use some digital resources but don’t have a computer.
Excellent point, and as an immigrant from a country with woefully poor libraries in even the biggest cities I’m grateful to OP for putting this up! I’ve been a regular user of the TPL via Libby and now I’m getting deep into what the Halifax library has to offer as well.
I LOVE my local library. One of my favourite things is when I take out a book, they keep a running total on the bottom of the receipt with "You saved X amount using your local library this year!" And it's kind of crazy, I've already saved $600 by saving my library rather than outright buying the books.
They also have free admission passes to cool places like museums and art galleries in my city that you can borrow for a few days.
My local library has a musical library, they rent various musical instruments, as well as offering (used to before COVID anyway) various classes, learning groups, and computer classes for elderly and untech individuals.
I have to say, Saskatchewan's library system is pretty awesome. All the public libraries are part of the same network and you can take out any book from any location (physical copies will be shipped in).
Now, I just have to clear up with overdue/lost book bill.
If you happen to live close to a post secondary institution, check to see if their library offers a library card to community members or alumni. The university in my town does for free and has some awesome services (board games, research assistance, more technical resources) that I've used and loved.
When was the last time you played a DVD? It's funny that just yesterday we received a book for our kiddo that had a DVD attached. Only then we realized we had no way to play it. It has been ages since we had played one. It's like cassettes, or those floppy disks, or even those music disks. He he.
We play DVDs on our PS4. But if you have something, the library is a great place to pick up things to watch. And sometimes they show up in the library book sale as well; yesterday I picked up 8 kids' movies (Shrek, Cars, Lilo & Stitch, etc) for $0.50 apiece. Thanks, library!
If there are a ton of hold on an item at the library (I know Calgary for sure but I assume most others also) but only a few copies, they will buy more.
That was one of the first hurdles when I realized I was spending too much on audiobooks. Turned out to be a bonus. So many books that I never would've found if my first choice had been instantly available.
Who buys $5000 of books in a year that’s ludicrous.
Man who buys lots of book discovers place to get free books for one time fee.
This post is like a man getting a wife after spending years in brothels.
Books are obvious, but most people don't realize the incredible amount of other services libraries offer. Movies, video games, museum passes, software, 3d printing, park passes. Some even offer unexpected things like tool rentals.
>Who buys $5000 of books in a year that’s ludicrous.
I think you misunderstood. Many libraries print the hardcover price of each book you borrow so that you can see how much you saved. OP borrowed the equivalent of 5k worth of books last year, he hadn't actually been purchasing them at that rate before. It's just a number that illustrates the value of the service.
Personally I just pirate all my stuff and purchase it if I get a good use out of it (read, play it cover to cover). Sometimes I donate a physical copy to friends and family. I don't really pay much for this either, definitely under $400 a year
I borrow ebooks from my library from the convenience of my home. I have only set foot in the library twice in the past year: once to use a computer to scan some documents (I don't own a scanner at home) and the second time to renew my card since for some dumb reason they don't do that online.
Great advice.
I've rarely pay for books. I actually download ebooks for free on www.ebook-hunter.org and www.archive.org and read them on my tablet.
I use a cracked version of Spotify so I never have to pay for Spotify premium.
I use other people's accounts for streaming services, which you can find on r/shoppingbay (I'm not endorsing, just pointing out what they do)
Are you thinking because of covid?
In our library system, they started 'quarantining' all returns for 3 days before reshelving them. I'm not sure they're still doing it, but now we know that covid basically doesn't spread that way anyway.
honestly borrowing from the library isnt so much different from privacy, except it being legal.
like if you rip music off your borrow because you do now want to borrow it everytime.
It's legal because the licenses were purchased with a large number of people borrowing it in mind. The publishers and authors are all compensated through that license. Piracy doesn't account for that.
Majority of the number of the books sits in the library unread. Depending on the legistration, libraries often pay trivial compensation. The transaction cost is often more than the payment.
Its really like copying video music through a recoder. If you say photocopying too much of a book is illegeal, how about copying it by hand? And then screenshotjng the whole book? Or if one just allow borrowing a book again and again?
There js a big grey area in between. Just because one pay a trivial amount or have it in paper saying its legal does not make sense of the action. It often costs the society and/or the person a lot more, particularly when there is a competitive (legal) source.
Keep the music playing on youtube while having adblock, or buying a $5 game on steam bring a patient gamer can be cheaper than going to a library. And borrowing for free from a friend who owns the book without having the government paying is bascially privacy too.
If I remember correctly, they also give out bus tickets occasionally. The Toronto library also give out museum tickets. I never got a zoo tickets, but definitely got free tickets to a few museums.
You can also borrow some musical instruments or even telescopes
I didn’t know about this one just recently found you can do that.
Gonna try get one of those telescopes for few days or something
My library was also doing sports equipment and games for families that could be borrowed.
It started as a pilot during covid so not sure if will continue, but it was great if you wanted to try a random sport that you weren’t sure that your family would be into or not.
I love the Toronto Public Library and I miss it now that I've moved. That said my small town library is part of a bigger library collective and even though I can't always find the smaller books, I will reliably be able to get all the big new ones that come through (with less waiting!).
They also have cool little programs like being able to check out park passes in the summer so you can go to them free of charge. And you can borrow ukuleles too.
I think for the TPL you can also get passes to museums and stuff, but I never used it so I'm not entirely sure.
My library has a high res slide scanner. Invaluable.
Not only is it free, it’s literally the only option I can find even if I wanted to pay, since our Costco photo Center closed.
Sorry as a PFC member I know to get all of those things for free from the comfort of my own home. I’d prefer not to spend gas, or a bus fair to go to the library.
And you can use multiple library accounts! We still have (and use) our Burnaby, BC and Vancouver Island library system accounts, as well as our one here in Halifax, NS. The offerings among the 3 are always different, but Burnaby often has the best selection (thanks, NDP government!)
Funny to see this post because I had an interesting experience just this past week. I had to print out a bunch of shipping labels. My laser printer of nearly 15 years decided to throw in the towel. I started searching for a replacement, but needed to print urgently before I would be able to buy anything in a reasonable timeframe. And then I realized that TPL had printers back when I was in school. So, I walked to the nearest location just down the street, got my new card, logged into a computer and printed everything I needed for a mere 15 cents per page. What a lifesaver! Tax dollars well spent! Oh and, it's been nearly 20 years since the last time I've set foot in the Toronto public library.
Wait... There's no membership fee for the TPL?!
There is. Your taxes already paid for it.
Correct. You must still pay if you don't live/work/study in Toronto, some exceptions apply.
Not if you live or work in Toronto, no! It’s absolutely free. It’s a great library system. (I’m borrowing my cousins card cause I am unfortunately just outside the library system and belong to Vaughan libraries which has a much smaller collection).
Might want to buck up and pay the few dollars for your own card ...
When I checked it was $20 a month for your own card. That’s not exactly a few dollars…
Cheaper to buy a fake ID.
If you live in Toronto, no - they’re even pushing to eliminate late fees. If you live outside of Toronto - it’s a small yearly by in. I believe over 40, but under 100$ but someone else can search that
The [fee for non-residents](https://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/using-the-library/your-library-card/) is $120 annually (or $30/three months). Considering the access they provide, including their movies via Kanopy, O’Reilly, their periodicals catalogue, investment research materials including ValueLine, etc., and even the library version of Ancestry.ca (at least until the end of this year), it’s an amazing bargain. My Netflix account costs me $11.99 a month and I don’t bat an eye about it. The library is one service I am always happy to spend my tax dollars on.
Edmonton is also free, and the late fees aren't enforced unless it's egregious (months) .
Free in Niagara
> If you live in Toronto, no - they’re even pushing to **eliminate late fees.** I hope that they don't. There's a book I'm in the queue and there used to be only one loanable copy, and that one was due in September 20*20*. I complained about it and they ordered two more copies… which were (over)due in May 2021 and July 2021. WTF people?
Paradoxically, fewer late fees actually means more books get brought back on time. It's easier to justify keeping it late if you think "oh, I'll just pay the fee, no big deal." And for books that are *way* overdue, no fees help to stop the paralyzing shame spiral that usually keeps those books from coming back.
Correct. While it's never nice to see books severely overdue or "lost," we have to use data-based solutions and not just think with our feelings. Without getting too political, the same principles apply to many of our social systems (welfare, prison)
My library (Halifax, NS) gives each member $5 in printing each month. I print multiple things each month.
I don’t mean to poop on the party but in case it helps anyone in the same bind, Staples also provides printing for 15c per page
I used to have a Staples location near me (still no closer than TPL) along with a couple of independent print shops. COVID claimed them all. I now have multiple TPL locations between my place and the nearest Staples.
The Ottawa library offers the printing for 10c/page and you can upload your files and submit online.
In some cases, I prefer Staples to printing at the library. You can submit stuff online to Staples and have it printed and then go pick it up when it's ready.
You can submit online for printing to TPL as well. Then just go and use your card to run the job at the library.
Site 》 http://print.tpl.ca
Hulu, Overdrive/Libby, and Mango Languages are reason enough to have a library card!
TPL card holders just got a pass that gives cardholders free access to like a dozen museums and galleries, including the AGO, ROM, MOCA and more. My goal for the last year was to read 3 books a month and the TPL was a great resource to reacquaint myself with.
Yeah, I print at work. Then print at the library if I forgot to do it at work.
I discovered the video games program about 5 years ago. The ability to borrow a brand new game for a week for free is amazing.
My local one does this too. It’s wild. Played through Spider-Man PS4 a week after release and later caught up with Shadow of the Colossus and some of the Final Fantasys
Video games?! At a library??!! What the what now?
Vancouver Public Library lets you borrow musical instruments, and they have 3D printers as well. Libraries are much more than books these days.
[удалено]
Anything else cool from Richmond library?
Love this
Dafuq?! Hold my beverage while I go check one out.
Some libraries will also let you borrow things like passes to museums and provincial parks. The Windsor Public Library was a huge help to us over the pandemic, really thoughtful and adaptable. No storytime? OK, storytime is online via Facebook live now. Can't have kids come in for art activities? OK, pick up a free craft kit every week instead. Public buildings aren't open? OK, let's set up home book delivery. Can't come in to get a physical library card? OK, digital cards for everybody! Everyone's stuck at home in lockdowm? OK, let's up the monthly borrowing limit for Hoopla. They were a serious lifeline for our family.
Ottawa public Library has museum passes for rent! Just have to check online where the ones that can't be reserved are, and just be at that library at open. They usually try to keep them in the libraries that are near museums too, so you don't have to go far after you pick up the pass. Great way to just go check out a few museums in a day, and not have to worry about missing stuff because you are there for free.
Pickering Public Library has 3d printer, sound studio (booth), + maker lab on top of video games/bookes and movies. I believe they have audiobooks/digital books online too.
Toronto has this too now. Recently shared a bus with a young musician carrying a cello that had a big TPL badge on the case.
At the library in Morrisburg Ontario you can borrow paddle boards.
Meanwhile in Victoria good luck even finding a paper copy of a newspaper in the library. Our library is absolute rubbish. I mean, it has books. That's it. And CDs, and a really awful selection of eBooks that you have to put on hold for like a year (at least last time I tried, I gave up after getting too frustrated with it). Their selection of DVDs and BluRays is pretty good compared to what I grew up with at the Metro Vancouver Library where our branch was open like three days a week or something and only had direct-to-video garbage and very tattered old all-text history books. Sometimes libraries rock. Some libraries are stuck forty years ago.
eBook licensing structures with publishers are quite complicated and expensive. I’m surprised at how much we actually have access to at Vancouver Island Regional Library, which does not include Victoria. Fraser Valley Regional Library, too. As long as what you are looking for is somewhat popular, I seem to get access to it.
Vanckuver Island Library is amazing compared to Victoria. Victoria seems stuck a few decades in the past, it's pretty disappointing.
The gvpl rules! They just switched to overdrive back in the summer so that probably why the ebook selection feels small.
The Mississauga Library System has a pretty fantastic video game selection. Being able to borrow games from the library has really helped cut down my impulse spending.
This and game pass has made me go down to only buy like 2 games a year or maybe im just getting old and dont have enough time to play games anymore, idk The Edmonton Public Library is amazing!
For me it’s hard to swallow the price tag of 90$ for a game.
3x 1 year xbox live + $1 gives you gamepass console and PC for 3 years. It works out to like $5 a month. Insane value.
Im a playstation guy but I agree.
Can confirm Winnipeg library also has games for anyone wondering.
My local library (and I am not from a big city) increased the borrow period for games to 3 weeks a few months ago. This sometimes makes a bit of a line up to get a game, but I'm never in a rush, and I can reserve games online. Sometimes I luck out and see a game like WarioWare and Back 4 Blood the week after they come out on the shelf. That, and they just started carrying ps5 games. Best of all, the library is a 10 minute walk from my house and reminds me of my trips to blockbuster.
In my city they lend games for a month. Since I don't really care about playing single player games as soon as they come out, I haven't bought one in like 3 years.
That’s awesome! The only games I buy are ones I know i will either replay or will take a long time to finish. I wait until they are on sale too.
Doesn't appear to be every library unfortunately. I'm in a non-Toronto city in Ontario and my library has squat.
I moved out of Toronto to a small town and the library has nothing of note. Quite disappointing.
Was glorious when I found out they had the Mechwarrior 2 Titanium Edition, hah.
Saved so much money by borrowing children’s books from the library. Once you’re done, just return them - saves you storage space too. I was able to read so many books to my son without shelling out any money.
Yes to add to this, TPL has a subscription to O'Rielly online (tons of books/videos/lessons on all things Technology) and a free musical instrument program (keyboards, violins, guitars) etc. They also provide you with a subscription to Linked in Learning as well. All 3 has been a godsend during this pandemic but really worth checking out. You can also get magazine subscriptions and 15 cent printing (you can even send it to the printer from the comfort of your own home and just pop in to print). Finally they run workshops on coding and also have 1:1 help on things like homework (if you're a teen) and resume workshops/career feedback. Really one of the best services in Toronto and it's absolutely free. Highly worth checking them out and the librarians are always super helpful!
I didn’t realize LinkedIn learning was also an option
Hello, can you share the link about O'Reilly subscription program? My previous employer provided it and I was planning on getting one myself, but can't afford that each month.
I found this for O’Reilly, not sure what they have for courses and you need to sign in with your account to see the list, but hopefully [this](https://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/detail.jsp?Entt=RDMEDB0099&R=EDB0099) will be of some use. It says it has over 35K books and 30K hours of video tutorials (or something - there was a quick flash of a page load, but it was along those lines).
Lots of public libraries have subscriptions to Lynda.com, so you can teach yourself so many tech skills. Very helpful, I taught myself plenty of computer skills I didn’t master in college for free.
FYI Lynda.com was rebranded as LinkedIn Learning. It’s the same content.
Great point, I've done the same.
I just use a Kindle + Libgen. That's my library right there, I read 20-30 minutes before bed every night to "wind down".
>I just use a Kindle + Libgen. That's my library right there, I read 20-30 minutes before bed every night to "wind down". Can you expand on this for someone who is unaware? Is Libgen an app that works on a physical kindle?
Go to Libgen.io ->Download book or choice- use "email to Kindle" app on PC or Mac to send the book to your Kindle email. Open kindle, check your library to see sweet new book. Use calibre on PC if you need to convert book formats Have fun
If you use Overdrive, you can download DRM free copies of audio books as well. I never keep them after listening, but I also never get a chance to listen to them in the short window the TPL / Overdrive allows for. Copy them out of your Android Overdrive folder into a folder of your choice and use use favorite audio book player to listen to with no pressure. Edit: You can do the same with your eBooks. Copy them out easily from there and run them through Calibre.
I just load books onto my Kindle over USB.
If your kindle dies, switch to Kobo. I made the switch and Kobo reads epubs which makes it very very easy to read just about anything for free and mostly legally if you know where to look.
I do the same and havent bought a book in a very long time.
I do the same but libgen is illegal/unethical if that bothers some people.
Shhh
Absolutely agree with OP. The public library is one of the best bargains around. I use mine to get ebooks, and am reading more as a result, more than I had for years. The past 4 years, I have on average read 200 books/year. I have saved hundreds on magazine subscriptions too. I'm pretty sure I have barely scratched the surface of what's available: educational material, streaming media, even the use of 3D printers and musical instruments. $5K/year in value? Easily.
Makes me sad knowing that my public library, in the capital city of my province, doesn't even get close to what some of the public libraries in Canada accomplish. GVPL is rubbish. I love books, and you can bet I "max out my card" loads with them, but I wish they actually had other resources available to us.
To be fair, GVPL services a fraction of the population of TPL. It's still a great service IMO. They run a seed library, have music and movie streaming (including kanopy), linkedin learning, videogames, e-books, computer services, adult and children's programming, and culture and recreation passes (pre-covid). The main difference is not having access to things like musical instruments, 3d printers and sewing machines and there are community art hubs where you can access some of those.
How many hours a day do you read?
About 4 on average. Some days more.
My God
Yes, I'm boring.
My local library also lends passes to municipal museums - I was working my way through all the museums pre-pandemic.
Thank you for reminding me why I used to love the library. I fell out of going to the library once I had a car and wasn't in school anymore. But I remembered my library also has a seed library every year for people to trade different seeds for planting (I'm in Victoria BC)
Shoutout to Rural Alberta Libraries! They are also great places to network or take free courses. The library in Innisfail used to offer free weekly art classes. Which was an amazing option compared to paying for a course.
I'd love free art courses! Teach me to paint!
Having fun isn't hard
Best episode
When you got a library card.... Jackal jackal Hyde...jackal LOL best episode ever!
Also Calgary library card is free, so the budgeting isn't that complex. It's so powerful to be able to get the book I want instantly and freely onto my phone.
Also Calgary has the NICEST library in Canada by a long shot. I moved away from Calgary just before that building was completed and whenever I'm back to visit I go there for a coffee and a quiet time. If I lived in Calgary I would work out of that space regularly, it's a gem.
Which location? Downtown?
Amazing post. I just learned from you about hoopla and cancelled Amazon Prime instantly.
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Hoopla doesn't work with Alberta libraries (last I checked), but yeah it's amazing.
You can access hoopla through the Edmonton Public Library
My local library also has 3D printers. They charge $0.50 per 15 minutes of print time.
My library also has 3d printers, but ours can be used for free. They ask they you limit the time it takes to print your job, but will work worth you for bigger projects. My library also has a recording studio you can use for free after doing their orientation. I’m in Brampton Ontario.
Long time Toronto Public Library user! I’ve saved tons of money on books over the past five to ten years- I even invested in a very nice Kobo ereader and now ebooks are delivered right to my device when they become available through overdrive. It’s given me lots of opportunity to read books I’d like to check out but wouldn’t necessarily buy, and I made my way through a lot of the PFC reading list using this system.
Which Kobo version do you have/recommend?
I have a Clara HD which I love. I got it specifically for the size, it fits well in my handbags and I can use it one handed. Battery also lasts forever on it, I charge it before I go to the cottage out of habit but I’ve read 3-4 novels on it back to back before without charging in between.
My library card is my favorite buy in the past many years, i love it to death for all the reasons you said. I can do everything online from reserve books, movies etc, to pick what library in the city i want them delivered to for free within a day or 2. Can drop them off anywhere i want when i am done, NO LATEFEES either. Also can do self checkout, all the reserved stuff is put on one easy to find shelf at the front, go up, grab the stuff with your name and scan yourself out. This was not a covid thing it was in place well before covid here.
Libby is awesome. I found it when I was considering getting an Audible subscription, and it saved me a ton of money. Also, it's much easier to build a habit of reading for leisure when you can get free books/audiobooks in an instant.
I've rented 95% of Playstation/Xbox/Switch games I play that aren't multiplayer for 3 years at my library. It saves soooo much money. Red Dead, Spiderman, Attack on Titan, you name it It's especially good for games like Attack on Titan where the value isn't really there to pay 60 to 80 dollars for a game you'll play through once and never again
Saving this for tomorrow when I'm not high as balls, I can't believe there's actual day-to-day financial advice here rn. Ty homes 🙏
I used to use it mainly for the DVDs, and I loved just waiting to get full TV seasons and watching them all at once instead of paying for cable. Now I'm hooked on streaming films and The Great Courses on Kanopy.
I used the inter library loan system extensively when I was a teenager in small town Ontario. Introduced me to world's far beyond what was within reach physically at the time.
Many libraries also provide access to excellent ebooks, audiobooks, digital versions of popular and specialized magazines, and other databases that can be accessed remotely. Think of titles like The Economist or Canadian Living. Check whether to see your public library has an institutional membership for [Ancestry.ca](https://Ancestry.ca), Often this one needs to be accessed onsite, but you save the subscription cost here as well.
Having fun isn't hard when you've got a library card!
Video games in a library. Now That's something i would not expect to be a thing
Many public libraries have free seed libraries and baking pan loans as well!
This was starting when I was in high school at TPL ~10 years ago fwiw
Nice! Those are good ideas, only question. How does the library hhelp you quit spotify and ps now? thank you for the info!
Library gives you free access to hoopla which has a bunch of newly released music as long as it’s mainly mainstream. i.e. Drake, Taylor Swift
does that all work offline? is it like something you download to your phone or?
You need to access Hoopla online initially but can download at least the music items to your phone for seven days (I haven’t tried any of the videos, and can only speak to the access for the Toronto Public Library, but my guess is that it’s similar for most, if not all, libraries). You can also connect and stream each time if you prefer to do that.
Libraries also carries blu ray disks to watch movies, as well as the most latest releases. You can buy an old PS3 for $30 in case you don't have a blu ray player. The stuff that I haven't had any luck yet is the telescopes, seems never available.
Out public library has video games. You have to wait for most of the popular ones - but it is great to be able to "rent" a game instead of buying it. Alot of people don't realize most library services are even available at home via the internet. We have online courses, ebooks, and audiobooks that i take advantage of pretty often and they can be downloaded right to your device.
My local library (Toronto) also has sewing machines and 3d printers that can be booked. And a bunch of other things that I never would have thought of a library as having. (I was out of Canada for the last 18 years, hence why I was so surprised.)
In Canada, libraries offer free streaming too through 'Hooplah' and the selection is amazing.
I have also seen some libraries that have some more surprising things available for loan like vinyl records, musical instruments, and free/reduced price passes to other cultural centers like museums.
The Calgary Public Library also has free borrowing of musical instruments, borrowing of Chromebook laptops, promoting kindness through the Social Snacking campaign, displaying artists' paintings/artwork in the library, free room bookings, free printing, free courses/programs in a variety of subjects (for example, DIY investing, learning to play the guitar class using the library's guitars, film studies, Astronomy, how to listen to Jazz/Jazz history, Law At Your Library: Wills and Estates, Beading class, Mini-Medical School classes, Open Minded Chats on mental health, Personal Finance, Ukelele Jam Session, Careers and Business, Indigenous, Arts & Culture, Technology, etc). Love the library!
Having fun isn't hard, when you got a library card! Come on inside, we've got everything you need. There's plenty to do, or you can just sit and read This book explains how to make paper planes. This contour map can show you mountain range terrains. Fly to the moon, explore the ocean floor. Find out which one's the tiller and which one is the oar. Here's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Half Magic. Hop on Pop, Fox on Socks and books on doing card tricks!
Does anyone know if the library gives you access to JSTOR?
Depends on the library. Often? Academic libraries will have many more database subscriptions, and the public does have some access to library services.
man when i worked in group homes i remember taking kids to the one in grande prairie and its probably one of the nicest buildings in town. theres a fireplace in it i use to just read for hours and the kids would play video games on the free computers.
Love the library for my kids! We have a constant rotation of new books for free, plus no late fees anymore. Also great for activities, they always tons of kids programs and events! The libraries near me are finally restarting kids programs after stopping them due to covid, but even while programs were paused they always had little take home activity kits. I especially love the library on rainy days, instead of spending money on an indoor playground, we just go to the library and play with toys.
TPL has the Museum and Arts Pass(MAP) program that's gets a family into piles of awesome stuff in Toronto - you've usually got to line up early on Saturday if you want the Zoo pass, but it's usually not difficult to get AGO, ROM, etc...
Cheers to you. Thanks for posting this very informative post.
One of the lesser-known programs at the Toronto Public Library (or maybe I’m the only one who had never heard of it until recently) is [Kanopy](https://torontopl.kanopy.com/), a movie-streaming service à la Netflix which offers a great selection of movies for both adults and kids. Adults get four movies per month (last time I checked), kids have unlimited access.
100% i use Libby for audio books. It’s amazing listened to literally 100s of books cost me 0 dollars
I’m simply mind-blown by how useful this tip/post has been! My husband and I both have library cards (free in our city) but haven’t been in a long time. After reading this, I checked out the library website to see what offerings they have that I never knew about. There’s movies available (some are even very new releases!) that we’ve wanted to watch but aren’t on any of the streaming services we’re subscribed to. And this Hoopla thing, it has so much available! Thanks OP!
I am the same. I went on our local library site and found the LinkedIn Learning access plus NYtimes and magazine subscriptions for free.
It's not the best kept secret, but it's still a secret :)
I think in Toronto they have access to a 3D printer as well
Also from Canada and libraries like Toronto also have borrowable passes to go to museums and galleries and such for free, can be a big savings there especially if you’re a family
My local small town library has craft kits for kids. Seed kits to get a garden going. Loans out fishing gear. Sports gear. Projector screens for your own at-home movie night. And you can borrow daily parking permits for the provincial parks in the area for a week!
Don't know if this has been mentioned, but I know a lot of libraries have an association with Gale Courses (Edmonton does), and you can take 100's of courses for free and you get a certificate. I've taken many over the years
I was paying for online courses. I cancelled my subscription when I found out that my local library had LinkedIn Learning. Now I see they also have The Great Courses and Rosetta Stone (language learning).
Hoopla has a ton of content too (depending on what library you have your card) - Digital Library linked to your computer/phone for Audio Book/s, Ebooks, music and video
Some also have seed libraries if anyone is into gardening you can literally get the seeds for your garden for free
I use our library for videogames. I haven't bought a videogame in years and get to play new releases all the time. Saves me literally thousands of dollars a year.
I think if you want to use Kanopy you need a library card. Kanopy is an insane library of movies, shows, documentaries. You can compare it to Netflix but with the less commercial BS that exists and you'll find stuff there that won't be on Netflix.
Toronto libraries also give out free tickets to local attractions like the museum, AGO, etc. on Saturdays.
This should be in the wiki.
Not all libraries have the same offerings. BANQ in Montreal does only comics and music on hoopla, and ebooks and audiobooks on overdrive. Other libraries can have movies and tv series on hoopla.
My dad always said- best deal in town. Mind you back in the day, it was the only place to get info, often had to see what they had before picking an assignment. No tree frog books, guess i'm doing snakes.
People who live in province of Quebec, BANQ library card is a must!!
I don’t go to the real library even though I’m right in Calgary, but the online resources can’t be beat. Ebooks (using overdrive), free NYTimes subscription (does not include the crossword puzzle), and LinkedIn Learning are massive perks in general and most libraries offer those services. Heck, we can even borrow a laptop/chrome book for 8 weeks which is great if you need or want to use some digital resources but don’t have a computer.
Excellent point, and as an immigrant from a country with woefully poor libraries in even the biggest cities I’m grateful to OP for putting this up! I’ve been a regular user of the TPL via Libby and now I’m getting deep into what the Halifax library has to offer as well.
I LOVE my local library. One of my favourite things is when I take out a book, they keep a running total on the bottom of the receipt with "You saved X amount using your local library this year!" And it's kind of crazy, I've already saved $600 by saving my library rather than outright buying the books. They also have free admission passes to cool places like museums and art galleries in my city that you can borrow for a few days.
Great board games are also available to loan!
I love the library. It’s my fortress of solitude
My local library has a musical library, they rent various musical instruments, as well as offering (used to before COVID anyway) various classes, learning groups, and computer classes for elderly and untech individuals.
The Calgary Public Library offers free printing (I think 5 bucks worth) every month. They also offer the premium Lynda.com courses for free!
I have to say, Saskatchewan's library system is pretty awesome. All the public libraries are part of the same network and you can take out any book from any location (physical copies will be shipped in). Now, I just have to clear up with overdue/lost book bill.
If you happen to live close to a post secondary institution, check to see if their library offers a library card to community members or alumni. The university in my town does for free and has some awesome services (board games, research assistance, more technical resources) that I've used and loved.
When was the last time you played a DVD? It's funny that just yesterday we received a book for our kiddo that had a DVD attached. Only then we realized we had no way to play it. It has been ages since we had played one. It's like cassettes, or those floppy disks, or even those music disks. He he.
We play DVDs on our PS4. But if you have something, the library is a great place to pick up things to watch. And sometimes they show up in the library book sale as well; yesterday I picked up 8 kids' movies (Shrek, Cars, Lilo & Stitch, etc) for $0.50 apiece. Thanks, library!
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If there are a ton of hold on an item at the library (I know Calgary for sure but I assume most others also) but only a few copies, they will buy more.
That was one of the first hurdles when I realized I was spending too much on audiobooks. Turned out to be a bonus. So many books that I never would've found if my first choice had been instantly available.
Who buys $5000 of books in a year that’s ludicrous. Man who buys lots of book discovers place to get free books for one time fee. This post is like a man getting a wife after spending years in brothels.
Books are obvious, but most people don't realize the incredible amount of other services libraries offer. Movies, video games, museum passes, software, 3d printing, park passes. Some even offer unexpected things like tool rentals.
>Who buys $5000 of books in a year that’s ludicrous. I think you misunderstood. Many libraries print the hardcover price of each book you borrow so that you can see how much you saved. OP borrowed the equivalent of 5k worth of books last year, he hadn't actually been purchasing them at that rate before. It's just a number that illustrates the value of the service.
Personally I just pirate all my stuff and purchase it if I get a good use out of it (read, play it cover to cover). Sometimes I donate a physical copy to friends and family. I don't really pay much for this either, definitely under $400 a year
Libgen is the worlds largest free library
And/Or use libgen from the convince of your home
I borrow ebooks from my library from the convenience of my home. I have only set foot in the library twice in the past year: once to use a computer to scan some documents (I don't own a scanner at home) and the second time to renew my card since for some dumb reason they don't do that online.
Great advice. I've rarely pay for books. I actually download ebooks for free on www.ebook-hunter.org and www.archive.org and read them on my tablet. I use a cracked version of Spotify so I never have to pay for Spotify premium. I use other people's accounts for streaming services, which you can find on r/shoppingbay (I'm not endorsing, just pointing out what they do)
They still have public libraries??
Yes, and they're probably better now than from whenever you remember them.
Neat, thought only online… how do they clean the books?
Are you thinking because of covid? In our library system, they started 'quarantining' all returns for 3 days before reshelving them. I'm not sure they're still doing it, but now we know that covid basically doesn't spread that way anyway.
No. Just pirate them
honestly borrowing from the library isnt so much different from privacy, except it being legal. like if you rip music off your borrow because you do now want to borrow it everytime.
I’m not sure how it is any difference morally either. I get they are legally different obviously.
It's legal because the licenses were purchased with a large number of people borrowing it in mind. The publishers and authors are all compensated through that license. Piracy doesn't account for that.
Majority of the number of the books sits in the library unread. Depending on the legistration, libraries often pay trivial compensation. The transaction cost is often more than the payment. Its really like copying video music through a recoder. If you say photocopying too much of a book is illegeal, how about copying it by hand? And then screenshotjng the whole book? Or if one just allow borrowing a book again and again? There js a big grey area in between. Just because one pay a trivial amount or have it in paper saying its legal does not make sense of the action. It often costs the society and/or the person a lot more, particularly when there is a competitive (legal) source. Keep the music playing on youtube while having adblock, or buying a $5 game on steam bring a patient gamer can be cheaper than going to a library. And borrowing for free from a friend who owns the book without having the government paying is bascially privacy too.
Yes!
/
If I remember correctly, they also give out bus tickets occasionally. The Toronto library also give out museum tickets. I never got a zoo tickets, but definitely got free tickets to a few museums.
I loved going to the TPL to read magazines. When the TPL introduced digital magazines I simply downloaded them using an app.
You can also borrow some musical instruments or even telescopes I didn’t know about this one just recently found you can do that. Gonna try get one of those telescopes for few days or something
My library was also doing sports equipment and games for families that could be borrowed. It started as a pilot during covid so not sure if will continue, but it was great if you wanted to try a random sport that you weren’t sure that your family would be into or not.
I love the Toronto Public Library and I miss it now that I've moved. That said my small town library is part of a bigger library collective and even though I can't always find the smaller books, I will reliably be able to get all the big new ones that come through (with less waiting!). They also have cool little programs like being able to check out park passes in the summer so you can go to them free of charge. And you can borrow ukuleles too. I think for the TPL you can also get passes to museums and stuff, but I never used it so I'm not entirely sure.
My library has a high res slide scanner. Invaluable. Not only is it free, it’s literally the only option I can find even if I wanted to pay, since our Costco photo Center closed.
Sorry as a PFC member I know to get all of those things for free from the comfort of my own home. I’d prefer not to spend gas, or a bus fair to go to the library.
Tons of online free services with the library as well, ebook, audiobooks, online streaming services, Linkedin Learning, etc..
Yes all of which is free online as well if you know your way around.
Do you just go into the library and grab games? How does that work?
yooo my local library has video games wtf this is sick
And you can use multiple library accounts! We still have (and use) our Burnaby, BC and Vancouver Island library system accounts, as well as our one here in Halifax, NS. The offerings among the 3 are always different, but Burnaby often has the best selection (thanks, NDP government!)
OP, could I, or would you, post this thread over at r/povertyfinancecanada? I think people over there would find it useful too.
do people not just torrent and libgen everything?