10 Free Things a Library Card Gets You That North Carolinians Rarely Use

The next time your home internet goes down, your library card might be able to get you back online.

Buncombe County Libraries check out Wi-Fi hotspots with unlimited data, and they’re free with your card. You can keep one for two weeks.

Here are the free things a library card gets you that North Carolinians rarely use.

1. ZOOM Passes

A Buncombe County library card and a ZOOM pass get you into the Asheville Art Museum, Chimney Rock, the Cradle of Forestry and the North Carolina Arboretum at no charge.

Many cardholders overlook the passes.

Reservations are made online, up to 30 days ahead.

Each card allows one reservation at a time.

You can visit up to four attractions a month.

Pick up your ticket at any library within seven days of your visit.

If you neither pick up nor cancel, you can’t reserve a pass for 30 days.

2. Wi-Fi Hotspots

Wi-Fi hotspots from Buncombe County Libraries are free with your library card.

Library hotspots come with unlimited data.

Any Buncombe County library can check one out to you.

The library checks all devices out for two weeks.

You need to be 18 or older.

Each household can check out one hotspot.

Use it on a long weekend away or while your home internet is down.

3. Digital Newspapers

Franklin County’s digital resources page lists four newspapers that are free with your library card.

They’re The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and The News & Observer.

Many readers pay for a news subscription without checking whether the library covers it.

Click or tap each paper’s logo on that page to activate your access.

4. Consumer Reports

Franklin County’s list includes Consumer Reports, with independent ratings and buying guides for appliances, cars and electronics, free with your library card.

Check a washer’s rating before you buy it, not after it’s in your laundry room.

The list also has MasterFILE Premier, a database of full-text articles from thousands of magazines and journals.

5. Language Courses

Buncombe County Libraries gives cardholders Transparent Language, which teaches listening, speaking, reading and writing in 110 languages, at no charge.

You usually log in through NC LIVE with your library card.

These examples come from named library systems, and your library may offer something different.

How NC LIVE Log-Ins Work

Camden County’s library, for example, asks you to type the 14-digit barcode on your card, without spaces, when you log in to NC LIVE.

Buncombe County Libraries says you may need your card number to log in to some of its databases.

If a database asks for a password, Buncombe’s page says to call the Reference Desk.

NC LIVE is North Carolina’s statewide library cooperative, with more than 200 member libraries.

6. Kanopy Movies

Kanopy streams movies, documentaries and foreign films free with your Buncombe County library card.

The county lists Kanopy on its Virtual Library page.

7. Ancestry Library Access

The county’s page says there’s no charge for access to any of its databases.

The same list adds HeritageQuest, whose sources include U.S. federal censuses.

Pull up the oldest relative whose name you know, then work backward.

8. Live Homework Help

A Charlotte Mecklenburg Library card gets you Tutor.com, a live online homework help service the library provides free. The library’s student success page lists up to 10 free sessions a week.

Aside for students: ONE Access students in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools enter their student ID number as their username.

The district’s page also lists 10 free tutoring sessions a week per ONE Access account.

9. NC Cardinal Loans

NC Cardinal is a consortium of North Carolina public libraries that share an online catalog.

A Buncombe County library card lets you borrow from over 30 other NC Cardinal libraries in North Carolina.

Buncombe County Libraries lists NC Cardinal loans as free.

To borrow one, switch the catalog’s location dropdown to NC Cardinal and place a hold.

The page says a held item is sent to you free of charge.

Cardinal items include books, audiobooks, music and movies.

10. Libby Ebooks

Libby, the library reading app from OverDrive, lets you borrow free ebooks, audiobooks and magazines on a phone or tablet.

All you need is a library card.

Franklin County’s digital resources page also lists Libby, which it calls free and easy to get started.

You can send borrowed ebooks to a Kindle e-reader too, if you’re in the U.S.

Psst! How many of these library freebies have you tried? Run through this checklist and see where you stand.

Fees and Deadlines

Library hotspots carry fees for loss or damage.

If you lose or damage a hotspot, Buncombe County charges $30, and $20 for a power cord.

Durham County Library hotspots go out for 14 days.

If you lose a Durham hotspot or don’t return it, the library adds a $45 charge plus a $5 lost processing fee.

ZOOM passes carry a deadline too, since Buncombe won’t accept cancellations after noon on the day of your visit for any reason, including weather.

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