12 Things a Library Card Gets You Free That Ohioans Rarely Use
With your Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library card, you can download unlimited songs or albums to your device and keep them.
That’s only one of many library perks.
Here’s what your library card gets you free that many Ohioans rarely use.
1. Columbus Culture Passes
Your Columbus Metropolitan Library card checks out Culture Passes for central Ohio attractions at no charge.
A Columbus Zoo and Aquarium pass admits up to six people of any age.
You can use it the day you check it out or the next day.
A Columbus Museum of Art pass admits two adults and up to four children.
Passes are for in-person checkout only, and the Culture Pass page says they’re non-reservable with limited supplies.
What a Culture Pass Doesn’t Cover
A Columbus Zoo and Aquarium pass from Columbus Metropolitan Library isn’t valid at Zoombezi Bay, Safari Golf Club or The Wilds.
Parking fees aren’t included, so you’ll still pay for those.
A Dawes Arboretum pass from Columbus Metropolitan Library covers one visit within two weeks of checkout.
You can’t use that pass during the member-only hour from 8 to 9 a.m.
2. Cake Pans and Kitchen Tools
Cake pans and kitchen tools are on the Library of Things list at Akron-Summit County Public Library.
Borrowing from the collection is free, according to a 2025 post from the Summit County Developmental Disabilities Board.
You can borrow up to three items at a time for 14 days.
Only adults can borrow from the collection.
The library’s item-limits table lists no cleaning fee for Library of Things items.
Cardholders with an opportunity card can’t borrow Library of Things items.
A borrowed pan covers a one-time birthday cake, so there’s no need to buy a pan for the cupboard.
3. Discovery Pass Admission
Your Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library card also reserves Discovery Passes, which get you into Hamilton County attractions for free.
The Krohn Conservatory is on the list, along with the Contemporary Arts Center, the Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati and the Cincinnati Recycling & Reuse Hub.
Use the Reserve a Pass link on the Discovery Pass page to book one online before you go.
4. Telescope Loans
You can check out a telescope with your Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library card, and Cincinnati TV station WCPO reports cardholders can use the Orion StarBlast 4.5-inch models at no cost.
You can keep it for 7 days.
The kit includes three books, two eyepieces, a star chart and an instruction manual.
A staff member trains you on the telescope when you pick it up.
You’ll need a card in good standing, meaning less than $10 in fines and/or no items 12 days or more overdue.
5. Dayton History and Art Institute Passes
Free admission to Carillon Historical Park and the Dayton Art Institute is available through Dayton Metro Library membership passes, according to the Dayton Daily News.
The Dayton History passes are family passes good for two adults and up to 10 children.
The Dayton Art Institute’s family membership passes cover two adults and up to four children.
The same 2025 report counted 22 Dayton History passes and 62 for the art museum.
It adds that the passes have a long hold list, but you can place a hold and freeze it until the date you want to visit.
6. Cricut Machines and Slide Converters
Your Toledo Lucas County Public Library card covers equipment use for free, and the making page includes a Cricut Maker.
Five locations have one, including Maumee and Oregon.
You can turn old slides and negatives into digital files on a Wolverine Titan converter.
You’ll find one at the Main Library, King Road, Oregon, Sylvania and West Toledo.
3D printing and vinyl cutting still carry a modest material fee.
Psst! How much do you know about library history? Take our quiz and see how many you can get right.
Quiz
Library Lore Pop Quiz
Answer these questions on library history, from Philadelphia to Cleveland. We bet you can’t get them all right. Prove us wrong?
Which county’s library sent out America’s first bookmobile, a horse-drawn book wagon, in 1905?
7. Hotspot Loans
Cardholders without home internet can borrow a Wi-Fi hotspot from Cuyahoga County Public Library, which describes it as free, unlimited high-speed internet from almost anywhere.
You can keep one for 21 days.
Up to 10 devices can connect to it at once.
Hotspots are available only at select branches, according to the library.
You'll owe $25 for the hotspot device if it doesn't come back.
8. Unlimited Music Downloads
With Freegal, you can download unlimited songs or albums to your device and keep them, using your Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library card.
Freegal is on the library's list of streaming services that are free with your card.
Its catalog has more than 18 million songs.
9. Digital Newspapers and Magazines
Your Columbus Metropolitan Library card opens PressReader, which provides access to more than 7,000 newspapers and magazines, including the Columbus Dispatch.
The library's eContent page lists PressReader among the services available anytime, anywhere, free with your library card.
10. LinkedIn Learning Courses
LinkedIn Learning is one of the platforms that Toledo Lucas County Public Library says cardholders get free access to.
You can pick from LinkedIn Learning courses in business, technology, creative and engineering topics.
LearningExpress Library and Transparent Language are on the same list.
11. Kanopy Movie Streaming
Kanopy, a streaming service for films and documentaries, is free with your Columbus Metropolitan Library card, according to the library's eContent page.
Kanopy has over 30,000 movies and documentaries, including the Criterion Collection.
The library also links a Kanopy collection for kids.
Toledo Lucas County Public Library gives you 30 tickets a month for Kanopy.
In Cincinnati, the library lets you watch up to 12 items a month.
You can start a film tonight without paying for a subscription.
12. Statewide Book Borrowing
Through SearchOhio and OhioLINK, your Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library card can borrow from more than 140 Ohio public and academic libraries.
The library says the statewide delivery network is free to use with most of its cards.
Books come for 21 days, and you can renew them up to three times.
If a SearchOhio book isn't back within 30 days of its due date, you'll owe $25.
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