There are few Metro entities that provide more free services than the Nashville Public Library system. In addition to the basics of lending books, music and movies from more than 20 locations spread across the county, NPL offers services that most Nashvillians probably aren’t aware of — but they should be!
The library’s Libby app offers free downloads of e-books, audio books, magazines and articles straight to your computer, phone or e-reader. Comics Plus gives complimentary access to thousands of titles of digital comics, graphic novels and manga, and Kanopy is like a free Netflix with streaming access to documentaries, award-winning movies and foreign films. NPL’s Library of Things allows cardholders to check out everything from a ukulele to an ice cream maker to a pickleball set to a sewing machine or a tool kit. They also offer a seed exchange program, free passes to local museums and e-bike rentals, free meeting spaces and study rooms plus no-cost parking downtown for 90 minutes, up to 100 free black-and-white and 40 color photocopies per month, and even free 3D printing.
If you’re interested in researching your genealogy, the library participates in programs that allow free access to sites like ancestry.com and FamilySearch, and research librarians will help answer your online questions with the click of a mouse. If you don’t have a computer, you can avail yourself of laptop loans for in-library use at several branches, or just sit down at one of their many desktops and browse away.
If you live in Davidson County and don’t have a library card, you’re really missing out on some amazing services!
—Chris Chamberlain
Contributor, Nashville Scene
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