Thirty Things To Do With Your Library Card

woman using a computer

During Library Card Sign-up Month, we ask: Did you have any idea you can do this much with your library card?

Yes, of course you can check out physical and digital copies of books! But wow, did you know you can check out seeds to pot in the house or plant in your garden?

Here are 30 other things (of many dozens) that you can do with your card — one for each day of the month. Don't have a card yet or need to manage yours? Visit our online card portal!

  1. Learn a language or brush up on one you started learning long ago. Central Library houses the World Languages Collection (17 languages!) and the Bluebird app is at your service online.
  2. Research family history through Ancestry.com.
  3. Learn woodworking on Craftsy.
  4. Learn 3D animation in Blender, using LinkedIn Learning. (Also: Learn new workplace technology with LinkedIn Learning.)
  5. Read The New York Times and The Kansas City Star. (Also: Play New York Times Games and browse the New York Times Cooking recipes.
  6. Use Pressreader to read magazines and newspapers, domestic and international.
  7. Brush up on your Kansas City-specific history at pendergastkc.org.
  8. Watch A24 movies on Kanopy for a themed movie night.
  9. Watch movies in Spanish on Bibliotele.
  10. Use Family Shelf Help for a curated list of suggested books to check out. Also: Browse through Novelist to find your next read.
  11. Check out the Fire Insurance Maps online (FIMo) database.
  12. Use AtoZdatabases as a new phonebook.
  13. Access EBSCO Databases — it's a great tool to sharpen information literacy skills.
  14. Use a Library computer. This sounds simple, but everyday, the Library helps bridge Kansas City's digital divide by offering many types of tech resources.
  15. Take charge of your health and well-being with numerous resources and even fun exercise and meditation classes.
  16. Watch a movie in an old bank vault!
  17. Watch Mo Willems’ animated pigeon on BookFlix.
  18. Grab a space to practice/learn piano (in a fourth-floor study room at the Central Library equipped with a Yamaha Clavinova digital piano; headphones and an instruction booklet are also available). Or, if you feel like showing the skills you already have, play on the Library's Yamaha Baby Grand Piano at the Central Library.
  19. Learn a new instrument on ArtistWorks.
  20. Access DigitalLearn to build tech skills.
  21. Take a writing class from a UMKC graduate student.
  22. Get 24-hour turnaround on paper editing on Brainfuse.
  23. Use the Library’s printing services.
  24. Look through hundreds of thousands of photos in The Kansas City Star photo archives.
  25. Access great senior resources, including activities at branches here.
  26. Request a Bookmobile stop at a local agency to check out books without having to visit a branch.
  27. Check out physical books, eBooks, DVDs, and CDs. Download the KC Library app to browse and place holds on materials from your phone or tablet.
  28. Listen to long-ago Kansas Citians talk about their lives and experiences in the Library's sound archives.
  29. If the Library doesn’t own something you want to read, watch, or listen to, submit a purchase request. If we can get the item from our vendors and it costs less than $50 (or $100 for e-content), we’ll purchase it and make it available for checkout. Log in to your BiblioCommons account, go to My Library Dashboard, and click Submit a Suggestion.
  30. Sign your kids up for their own library cards. Reading, and the responsibility that comes with checking out materials, builds engagement, ownership, and a love of libraries.
  31. Bonus: Your library card makes a great bookmark!

Get a Library Card or Manage Your Card

See what events and activities are happening related to Library Card Sign-up Month.

Digital Resource