Bills, job and/or school responsibilities, your kids' science fair project you didn't know about until the night before, and the ever-present existential dread of figuring out what’s for dinner. Life as an adult?...it’s just...a lot. But an HCPL library card is the cheat code you didn’t know you had. Sure, you can check out books and DVDs (and you should!), but here are ten next-level perks that make life a little easier, less expensive, and a lot more interesting (in a good way).
Stream Without Regret
Ever get that lump in the pit of your stomach when you see Netflix, Hulu, or any of the kajillion subscription streaming services has taken its monthly slice of your paycheck? Your library card grants you access to Kanopy for free. Kanopy offers great indie films, eye-opening documentaries, and my favorite feature: access to the Great Courses catalog, which allows you to delve deeply into almost any topic that interests you, from cooking and astrophysics to ancient history, the arts, literature, and beyond.
Summon Books From Across the Land
HCPL's Collection Development Department does a brilliant job, year in and year out, of making sure the materials budget balances between the bestsellers that everyone is queuing up for and all the countless other books, DVDs, and resources that make a library a library. That being said, as much as they might like to, Collection Development can't put everything everyone wants or needs on our shelves. Thankfully, your HCPL library card gives you access to public and academic library collections across the globe through Interlibrary Loan,
Learn more about Interlibrary Loan
Learn a New Language (or 100 of Them)
With Transparent Language, HCPL's language learning database, you can study Spanish for work, French for fun, or any of over one hundred languages from Albanian to Zulu just because. And the best part? No annoying owls.
Get started with Transparent Language
Master the Adobe Suite Without Selling a Kidney
Want to learn Photoshop, Illustrator, or InDesign? Your card unlocks LinkedIn Learning, among many other lifelong learning tools for career and enrichment. And LinkedIn Learning isn't just for creatives. It offers a wide range of professional development courses, from Leadership and Management to Cybersecurity, AI, and various professional certifications.
Find Your People Online
On HCPL’s website, you can rate books, write reviews, create lists, and follow other readers. You can even create your own quirky ratings scale! Our website is building a community and many microcommunities of readers! It’s Goodreads, but local—and with fewer arguments about whether the movie was better than the book.
Did you know?
All Harris County Public Library programs and events, from ESL classes to Story Times and Movie Nights to HCPL's FutureU college and career counseling service, are presented free of charge and are open to the public, AND you do not need a library card to take advantage of them, but why would you not get a libary card? HCPL library cards can open worlds of possibility and they are free (heck, we don't even charge late fees if you forget to return a book on time). Find the HCPL Library Card that's right for you.
Your HCPL Library Card Plays Well with Other Libraries
Your HCPL card doesn’t stay in its lane. It also gives you access to collections at Bellaire Public Library, Montgomery County Public Libraries, Pasadena Public Library, and the Libby/Overdrive collections of Bryan-College Station Public Library and Houston Public Library. More libraries, more choices, zero extra cards to keep track of.
Get Market-Savvy (Without the Paywall)
Your HCPL library card gives you many of the high-powered tools the pros use to keep on top of the trends on Wall Street: Morningstar, Value Line, GALE Business Insights, and Wall Street Journal Online. Best of all, no paywalls, no subscriptions. All you need is your library card number and PIN. If that's not savvy, we don't know what is.
Explore HCPL's Business, Finance, and Legal Online Resources
Nurture Your Green Thumb without Digging into Your Wallet for Green
With food prices continuing to rise, a lot of folks are getting into growing their own vegetables. But buying all the tools you need to get started can erase or exceed the money you might save. HCPL can save you some cash to increase your savings with our gardening tool libraries. You can check out high-quality gardening tools from our Baldwin Boettcher and Evelyn Meador branches.
Learn more about our Gardening Tool Libraries
Trace Your Roots
With HeritageQuest, African American Heritage, FamilySearch and Ancestry Library Edition, your card helps you dig into genealogy. Who knows—you might discover a pirate, a poet, or branches of your family tree you never knew about.
Genealogy and History Resources
Did you know?
HCPL offers special library cards for active-duty military personnel, visitor cards and the powerful TexShare Card. Learn more.
Go Digital, Everywhere
Beyond ebooks and audiobooks, your card unlocks digital magazines, newspapers, and streaming music. Basically, your phone becomes a pocket-sized library branch.
September is National Library Card Sign-Up Month
September is National Library Card Sign-Up Month, which makes it the perfect time to finally get a card—or replace the one that’s been hiding under your car seat since 2011. Level up your adulting game.
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