50 Ways To Use Your Public Library

An Uncustomary Babe asked me to make a list of 50 ways to use your public library, so here we go! My dad has worked in a library since I was born, and my very first job was as a page putting books away. I have a deep love for libraries, so this was fun to write and think of all the ways you can utilize the resources available to you! Now that we have the internet, we don’t really go to libraries as much anymore, but there’s a ton of things you can do there. Check it out!

50 Ways To Use Your Public Library

1. Try to track someone’s check-out history with old library cards inside the backs of books
2. Check out a DVD you’ve never heard of for movie night
3. Print out funny flyers to post as guerrilla art
4. Search for jobs / update your resume
5. Use the hell outta free WiFi for social media
6. Volunteer AT the library, they can use some help
7. Leave papers with your favorite quotes inside the books they came from
8. Memorize the Dewey Decimal System
9. Collect all the free stickers and bookmarks they have to offer
10. Figure out what microfiche film is and go down a rabbit hole
11. Spend all day copying down quotes that inspire you in your journal
12. Collect all the things you find in books for an art installation
13. Take kids to the library to encourage reading for pleasure early on
14. Meet up with a tutor to bone up on a specific subject
15. Create a blog to build a business or document your life/hobbies
16. Attend a free event (they host them way more than you might think!)
17. Research other cultures to educate yourself instead of appropriating
18. Make friends with a librarian
19. Organize a study group to meet there frequently
20. Leave a nice note/RAOK in the copier

21. Enjoy free air conditioning on a hot day
22. Print out physical newsletters to mail friends
23. Pick up your annual tax forms
24. Check out something from each section of the library in a set time-span, like a year
25. Play people-watching bingo
26. Buy discarded materials for super cheap
27. Check out a college textbook with an inter-library loan and save some cash at college
28. Purchase supplies online for photoshoots, adventures, home decorating, etc.
29. Go on a scavenger hunt (see download below)
30. Use the copier to make zines
31. Practice mindfulness in a cozy chair or breathing in the smell of an old book
32. Photocopy a map to explore a certain area of your city in great detail
33. Start learning a new language with books/audio books
34. Check out a book based on the cover – go by the theme, color, etc.
35. Ask a librarian about something you know little about but are curious to learn more about
36. Look into any e-reader options they have available (seriously!)
37. Play with the games in the children’s section
38. Print out coupons, templates, tickets, mailing labels, etc.
39. Sit down to write that book you keep procrastinating on
40. Photocopy pages from books for blackout poetry

41. Plan a budget, event, vacation, blog schedule, etc.
42. Learn a new recipe from one of the many, many cook books
43. Investigate your family’s ancestry
44. Participate in a Summer Reading Program (they have incentives, prizes, and more!)
45. Rent the meeting room for a group event, to teach a workshop, or something unique I can’t even imagine!
46. Use the 3D printer (some of them have them!) to make literal magic
47. Read a Manga book to trey reading from right to left
48. Take an online class
49. Snap a picture of the most ridiculous romance paperback book cover you can find (and send it to me)
50. Make out with someone to check it off your Make Out Bucket List

(Remember, if you’re an Official Uncustomary Babe you already have access to ALL content upgrades without needing to download/sign-up for anything. Want to be an Official Uncustomary Babe? Click here!)

What else do you like to do at your local library? There’s infinite possibilities! Share below!