Hey y’all,

Last week I was on a bike ride and one of my companions told me he didn’t have a library card. I couldn’t believe it! This person is constantly reading and we discuss books all the time. When I voiced my disbelief and listed off all the things I do with my Austin Public Library card, some of the other riders in our crew admitted they had no idea you could do so much at the library.

So today, I’m sending this letter to everybody with a summer reading assignment:

1. Visit your local library and apply for a library card. (Or pay your fines and renew.)

2. Ask a librarian for a tour of the library building, the online catalog, and the digital holdings. Ask the librarian to show you how to put materials on hold, how to request materials for purchase, and how to use interlibrary loan.

3. Check out at least one item. (So you have to return.)

That’s it! That’s all I ask. Bonus points if you bring some kids or friends or loved ones with you.

Now, everybody’s library is different — some libraries might offer more and some might offer less — but here’s a short list of things I’ve done with my library card recently, just as a sampling of possibilities:

• I put paper books and DVDS and Blu-rays and CDs on hold and had them delivered to my local branch for pickup

• I downloaded brand-new ebooks straight to my Kindle

• I listened to audiobooks with the Libby and Hoopla apps on my phone

• I streamed movies with Kanopy on my Roku TV

• I read brand-new issues of newspapers and magazines like New Scientist online

• I got my kids’ passports renewed through the APL’s passport service

All of this for free!

I took all these photos at public libraries

If you’re traveling and away from your local library this summer, no problem: Try some library tourism! Even if you don’t plan a whole trip around them, libraries are excellent spots for weary travelers: free, quiet, cool, full of locals, and staffed by people whose job is to help any visitors who walk in the door.

Wherever I travel, I research the nearby libraries and try to pop into any I happen to come across while walking around. In Milan, I stumbled onto the Braidense National Library and saw an excellent exhibit of book art. Driving the California coast, I discovered that the public library in Encinitas has a view of the Pacific. During a week on Cape Cod, we visited the brand-new Eastham Public Library during a week on Cape Cod. (You might be surprised where you’ll find an amazing library: The Cleveland Public Library, for example, is one of the most beautiful libraries I’ve been in.)

So if you’re out traveling this summer, stop in a public library! If you need anything, the librarians will help you. I’ve also heard of libraries offering cards to temporary visitors.

Now y’all tell me: How do you use the library? What do you wish people knew about libraries? What did I miss? Let us know in the comments:

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xoxo,

Austin