Happy Monday, Geeks! This week is National Library Week. In honor of the occasion, here’s a list of ten free services and programs that you might not expect to find at the Sacramento Public Library (but you will). I’m guessing that your library offers similar services – what’s your favorite? What’s the most unexpected?
1. Fitness classes: Heavy Metal Yoga? Punk Rock Aerobics? Tae Kwon Do? Yoga for Kids? There’s an awful lot of activity happening in the stacks, these days. Darn you, skinny people, keep it down, I’m trying to read!
2. Ebooks, Ereaders, and laptops: Not only can you check out eBooks now, you can check out an eReader to read your book on. You can check out a laptop if you want one. No fully functioning TARDIS’s available, though.
3. CDs: Thanks to the library, I haven’t bought a new CD in years.
4. DVDs: As long as you don’t crave instant access to new releases, the library is a great source for free TV shows, movies, and documentaries. Recently I checked out Community Season 3 and Chronicle. Unlike Redbox, I get to keep the DVD for three weeks – more, if no one is behind me in the hold line.
5. Audiobooks on CD and Mp3 player: You may notice that I’m very excited about free entertainment. My daughter loves listening to audiobooks in the car and we go through a new one about once every other week.
6. Advice on: How to invest for retirement, how to speak Swahili, how to fix your car, how to fill out legal forms, what to ask your doctor, how to find out who your ancestors are…if you want to know about it, they probably have it here.
7. Sensory storytimes for autistic children. we all remember story time, right? Well, they still have that – for babies, toddlers, and preschoolers, but now they’ve added special programs to meet special needs.
8. Classes and Events: Here’s some random titles of free classes and events held in various Sacramento Library branches recently: Bad Art Night, Magna Cafe, Knitting and Nattering, Family Movie Night, Classic Movie Night, Introduction to Excel, Teen Poetry Competition, eBook Help, One-on-One Job Coach Assistance, Persian Book Club, Lego Madness…now my fingers are tired.
9. Adult Literacy: A lot of people expect a library to have literacy programs, but you may not know that the Sacramento Public Library offers the only basic literacy program for adults in Sacramento. There are several other Adult Education organizations in the area, but they tend to focus on things like helping people pass a high school equivalency exam. If you want to learn to read from scratch, you’ll need the library’s help. For more information about adult literacy programs in Sacramento, click here.
10. Geeky Joy: For example: Zombie Scavenger Hunt, Haunted Stacks, Edgar Allen Poe Film Project, How to Write Using the Tengwar Alphabet, Mad Science, Science Fiction Book Club. This is Geek Central. On top of all this, the library does a damn fine job of fulfilling its original purpose – loaning people books. So, whether your librarian is handing you a free book to read today, teaching the aerobics, or fighting crime with a secret identity, tell them “Thank You” this week.
Geek Girl in Love 