4. Get Free Homework and Standardized Test Help
Your library card can give you access to free services online help from expert tutors Or Tutor.com, which provides live, one-on-one homework help to students in grades K-12 and higher education. This is a good deal, considering that the hourly rates of a private teacher can range from $25 to $80 per hour.
If you’re preparing for college, check to see if your local branch has resources for standardized tests like the SAT or ACT. The Broward County Library in Florida, for example, offers a free 10-hour test preparation workshop for high school students. it can cost hundreds of dollars elsewhere. Prospective graduate students can find resources for exams such as the GRE, LSAT, MCAT and MAT.
Librarians can also contribute to school projects. If you need to look up something, they can identify relevant books or order them for you from other branches. Bhat says a lot of kids come in looking for help writing biographies.
5. Take free fitness, leisure and language classes
Some libraries often offer fun, free programs that you would pay money for elsewhere. Queens Public Library in New York offers workout classes ranging from yoga to tai chi to Zumba, saving customers potentially hundreds of dollars in monthly class fees at a fitness studio.
Libraries can also help you find a new hobby. You can join a knitting clublearn photographyOr take a class with a naturalist. Some places will even allow customers to borrow the necessary equipment. Libraries in Florida And Philadelphiafor example, have “birding backpacks” equipped with items for bird watchinglike binoculars and field guides to help identify local birds.
Many libraries grant their users access to online language learning resources such as Mango tonguesa service offering courses in more than 70 languages.
6. Attend free concerts and performances
Save money on live music by checking what your local branch offers. The New York Public Library’s performance art space, for example, has upcoming concerts with a choir and a quartet. And people can watch a classical guitarist or harpist play at various libraries in Los Angeles County.
