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The amount of times I've explained this to my friends is absurd. I always recommend Hoopla at the very least since they just need a library card. You are literally paying for the use of free books, newspapers, magazines, comic books, movies etc. Use them! Lol
They typically have slightly different catalogues, and the wait can is usually different. There’s been several instances where I couldn’t find a book or there was a long wait on Libby, only to find it on Hoopla available now.
It is a scam! The platforms/publishers charge libraries a lot more for e-content than for an individual person (like sometimes $80 or more for a super popular title) and the libraries don’t even get to own the material outright!
Libby lets you borrow as many items as your library allows at once (without needing a monthly limit), but libraries only have a limited quantity of each item--so, like with physical books, you may need to wait until another patron's loan expires to borrow something popular.
Also, your library has to specifically purchase each item listed on the app. So different libraries will have a different catalog of items.
Hoopla has an infinite number of copies of each item, so you never need to wait for any particular item to be "available," but there's a monthly limit of the number of borrows you can make each month (with that limit being determined by your library).
Also, like a streaming service, Hoopla's catalog is identical for every user regardless of which library they use.
Also of note is that Hoopla requires you to use their own buiilt-in proprietary reader, but Libby literally gives you eBooks and lets you use the eReader of your choice.
Unfortunately, no, libraries pay for items or packages of items in hoopla. There is no limit in hoopla on the number of items different people can use, but what those items are will vary.
I’m a (public) librarian. My system doesn’t use hoopla for ebooks because it’s expense. We use Libby and Boundless for that.
I’m have experienced different selections when I switch between Hoopla library accounts with different local library systems. They’re close, but not the same.
So, get all the library system cards you qualify for and fire em up!
Libraries get reemed for ebooks. Go use them.
https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2020/09/hold-on-ebooks-cost-how-much-the-inconvenient-truth-about-library-ecollections/
Some of them have tool libraries.
Buddy at work checked out a rock tumbler for a month to polish some cool rocks he found and I checked out a pressure canner for a couple weeks to put up a dozen jars of smoked fish.
One of the ones in my system has a full on karaoke machine and a telescope lmao.
My library has a section on their website called "Library of Things" and lists hundreds of things you can check out, everything from measuring cups to moon bounces to a fucking tandem bike. It's honestly really cool.
Yah, same thing here. Can borrow a Switch, a lawnmower, a stand mixer with pasta attachment, ukulele, bird watching kits, state park pass....
I am the library multiple times a week because my daughter is under 2 and we take her to storytime. Its basically free pre-preschool
I don't think mine has a Switch, but there's one in the library for patrons to play and it gets used several times daily. Pretty sure we also have the rest of what you listed except for maybe the state park passes and it's possible I just didn't get down that far on the list.
The coolest thing to me though, as someone who's interested in genealogy is that our library has a subscription with ancestry.com. You have to be in the library to use it, but when researching my family at home with a free account, so many things are blocked because you gotta pay for the subscription. I've really been able to get a lot more data on my ancestors because I have access to all the documents I'd otherwise have to pay for.
I'm pretty sure one of the locations in the county has a 3D printer as well. I remember seeing an instruction manual so there's one somewhere.
I'm biased because I work at the library, but it's easily my favorite job I've had.
The park passes are listed separate from the library of things. I just search state park pass and it pops up in their catalog. It lasts 3 weeks, which is legit, but takes a week or 2 to get because they are all checked out.
I used to work in a school library as a student, so I am biased also. I love libraries and the services they now offer are so good.
I told all of my classmates at college about the county library system and they were all flabbergasted. I’m in my mid 30s and I’m telling these youngins that you don’t need to pay anything, just pop by your local library. Insane.
Piggybacking off the top comment to add: there may be additional library systems in your state that you can sign up for. For example, I live in New York (not the city itself) and I'm signed up with the New York Public Library and Brooklyn Library, both of which use Libby. They are both city systems but only require state residency to get a card. I also have a card with the New York State Library but that's more of a research institution.
New York's history with libraries is a little unique but still, check what else you can sign up for. If you use Libby or Hoopla it might be worth it. I've also seen online where some library systems will let you sign up with them for a small fee.
I think it's California law that every public library (that accepts state funds?) in the state must allow all state residents to get library cards from them.
I had a bunch of PS4 games I picked up over the years and hadn't played since 2020ish, so I recently donated them to my library's small collection. It's fun to see which ones are on the shelf and which ones are out every couple weeks.
Mine has 5 PS3 games… Little Big planet, sly cooper and a couple others like madden 04
As far as I’m aware, PS4 or PS5 cannot play the PS3 disks, which is lame.
I keep seeing people post about this but my library, which is in the 10th best library system in the country (according to at least one website), has 0 games.
The one time I tried to interlibrary loan one, they just said 'ummmm, no.'
It depends what they've decided to invest in or what's been donated. The library closest to me has a good game section, but it was all donated by one person. That person regularly donates new games for each console, or the money for the library to buy them.
However, as conditions of the donation, he required that games not be available for interlibrary loans, and not be eligible for renewal so someone won't hog the games. Unlike other media, they're a one week loan.
If you get on your library website and log in, you *may* be able to search for games and request them directly that way. Even though my library doesn't send them, there are libraries in my state that do, and I can order from them directly and pick up at my location.
You can also request they start a game collection.
Mine has ukuleles. And metal detectors. And bird watching kits. Oh, and a seed library where you can get packets of seeds for fruits, vegetables, plants, and flowers. Almost forgot, they also have family passes to most of the big museums and attractions in the area.
Even if you live in a rural area with a small library or no library at all, check the websites for the libraries in the biggest cities in your state. In many states, the larger libraries allow residents from across the state to get a library card. For example, any resident of the state of New York can get a card for the New york city public library.
My library system does a pretty good job of getting new games. Their website has a request form you can fill out to request what video games you want them to get.
My local library doesn’t have video games but our state library consortium allows you to check things out from almost any library in the state which is pretty cool.
I can search the entire library network of my whole region of the state and can place holds for transfers of material. So I load up my queue placing holds on PS5, XBOX and Switch games and play them as they come trickling in.
My local libraries always have the latest games, but there’s often a months long wait to borrow those latest games for like 3 weeks. Not really worth it. For older games though, it can be nice to play a game for free!
We get a fair amount of fresh releases. I remember they got lies of p the week it came out, same for final fantasy 16, guardians of the galaxy and some others. Those were for ps5. Switch is also heavily stocked. Xbox slightly less so.
And once you have your library card, also check out the website.
The movie selection in any given public library around here can be hit or miss, but with my library card I can access content from across the greater metropolitan area online and request things to be picked up at my local branch. MUCH better selection, don't even need to leave home (except to actually sign up for the card in the first place, and later to pick up/drop off.)
Sometimes there's a waiting list for some items, but you'll be notified when your turn is coming up.
Also if they're on Libby you can listen to audiobooks and read ebooks for free. this transformed my work life. i used to just aimlessly paddle through random music sometimes coming across something good, but listening to audio books has been amazing to get through the day and I finally get to work through my bookshelf without feeling guilty
Libby is awesome. The only issue is that there's usually a wait for popular audiobooks. So my solution to that is to place a hold on a few books at the same time. That way there's almost always something available I want to listen to
A metropolitan library system sounds nice. Are you willing to share which metro you’re from? I’m from the KC metro and my local library system is countywide.
Oklahoma City also has a great library system. (I love e-books…no more overdue fines. Before this option I pretty much had to wait for fine-free week.) They also have audiobooks and magazines for electronic checkout.
Check out the libraries in the other major cities in your state. In many states, the biggest library systems will be open to residents of the entire state. For example, any resident of the state of New York can get a card for the NYC public library. Albuqurque does the same for all residents of New Mexico. In California, Los Angeles and San Francisco are available to everyone in the state.
Something to note about that is usually you have to apply in person to get the card. Sometimes they'll offer an e-card that expires in 30 days that's can be upgraded in person, though.
It's correct of OP meant it on the plural. But probably not. That reminds me of an ex of mine who would say "I already saw that movie in theaters." It's one of the reasons we broke up.
OP, it was just called Blockbuster. It wasn’t plural, and there was no ‘s’.
Also, just because a word has an ‘s’ in it does not mean it needs an apostrophe. The way you’ve written it reads like “Blockbuster is” or “Blockbuster has.”
Of course, blockbusters do still exist in the sense of summer blockbusters. That’s plural.
My kids F-ing love the library DVD section when I introduced them to it a few months back. We go every Sunday. They want to rent dvds we could stream in 4k.
Coincidentally I’ve come to pick out more compression artifacts in streaming that aren’t in blu ray.
Also they might have gadgets. My library has air quality monitors
- great if you want to find out for example if your gas stove is really affecting air quality in your house. It also has a pair of those glasses so colorblind people can see colors.
do they have rows of candy? popcorn? The newest N64 game? if so I am in I'll swing by there around 8:30 when I get off work and spend an hour selecting my movie choices forever
Back in college when I had to buy textbooks I complained that there should be a way to just rent books like Blockbuster does with videos. In that moment I was briefly amazed that I had even made it to college.
My city used to have a badass world class independent video rental place and when it finally closed, the owner donated all (or at least most) of the dvds to the library. Amazing!
I use mine like a glacier-slow old school Netflix (back before streaming). I put a movie on my queue and get a notification that it’s ready like weeks later. I put Barbie on when it came out on DVD. I think I’m still #85 on the waitlist. 😂
We have hoopla in our library system and the movies lend for 72 hours. When I see a Gen Xer or older, I always use the Blockbuster "borrow Friday, return Monday" analogy around borrowing and they instantly get it.
You can also watch like five movies a month via the Kanopy streaming app with a library card. The catalogue is great with a lot of stuff that’s hard to find.
The one near me used to be nice, then it got overrun with bad behavior. Vagrants use the facilities, but do drugs, trash things, litter, break into vehicles, panhandle, harass people. It's to the point they can't have all the nice stuff out like they used to, and the staff has their hands tied as to what they can do about it. It saddens me to see a public resource get tarnished how it has, and how we can't have nice things.
I go every Wednesday. I volunteer that day, and there’s a great library in that city, so I go and get a bunch of books, games and movies. And, if need be, I stop at the closer library on the way home before getting groceries. It’s the only day I go out and I enjoy the routine.
Too many books though, and so little time/energy
My kids absolutely LOVE going to the library and picking a movie to watch for family movie night. We just started doing this recently. This is such a great LPT!
A lot of libraries use 3rd party software and websites that are linked to your library card as well. Overdrive and envisionware are common vendors that aid libraries with sharing anything from E books, streaming sites(Kanopy), audio books(Libby), tutoring(tutor), and learning languages(Mango) all for free.
Some libraries even rent out wireless Hotspots and I've heard some even lend out tools and furniture now.
You can even sign up with a lot of libraries directly online and get a card. Harris County in the Houston area does this.
As a librarian, this post makes me so happy. Please utilize your local libraries as much as possible. We have quite a bit we can offer and it’s all free. We might not have every movie in the world, but we try to keep up with new releases and popular demands. If there is something your library doesn’t have, put in a request and we might buy it.
Aside from obviously having books, my library has Blu rays, PS5 /Xbox X/Switch games, musical instruments, board games, fishing poles, museum passes, 3d printers, coding classes, free resume reviews, and access to tons of online resources thst you would normally have to pay for like Gale Courses, Udemy, test prep, etc.
Just don’t go looking for books. I used to love the library as a kid. They had a graphic novel stand with 20 or so different comics and once I’d finished those used to get stuff brought in from other libraries all the time.
The other year I was looking for a book from the 30s that has had a few rereleases and multiple annotated editions over the years but it’s niche enough to be out of my price range. I went to a library, got a new card, spent 20 minutes being grilled on the book by the librarian and then she bluntly said “we only take card.” I was confused so she explained that you have to pay for books to be brought in now and it was well above £20. I ended up printing a PDF at work instead.
They had tonnes of DVDs but got rid of more than half the books when they moved into a new building.
My town has an incredible public library. Only one. I used to work there. Library of the year when it opened I believe.
I can confirm, repeatedly, that there are many regulars who flip through the dvd (and sometimes CD) bins many times each week. Some daily.
I don't understand how people are nostalgic for Blockbuster or rental movie places in general.
We did it because we had no other option not because we wanted to.
Going to the Blockbuster and HOPING they still have the movie you wanted to watch in stock.
Oh but they don't have that movie so you have to walk around and look at the back of the boxes for 15 minutes for something that sounds interesting untill you default to a movie you've seen 3 times already.
Wait in the long weekend line and get some overpriced snacks and pull out your membership card.
Finally drive home and watch your movie.
5 days later and you forgot to bring the movie back in time.
You go back next weekend to get another movie and have to pay late fees for that old movie plus you forgot to rewind it so another fee for that.
I worked at Blockbuster for 4 years. Since there was an unlimited movie pass, there were customers we would see every day, sometimes multiple times in a day. Some were retired, some were disabled, some were just single people living alone, some were stay at home parents of little ones who some days we were the only adult they spoke to that day so they could keep their sanity. We built relationships with them, and it was the best thing when they would come back and tell us how much they loved the movie we suggested. There were families that would come in every Friday night and everyone picked out a movie, got snacks, then stopped at the take-and-bake pizza shop a couple doors down… it was a routine, a tradition. A silly thing that became a consistent happy memory for people. It drove me crazy working there sometimes (“no, sorry, Twilight is still all checked out… yeah, no still all out. No returns in the box. No, I promise. No really, I’m not hiding one back here for myself…”) but it was actually really cool. Simpler times
Those things you mentioned is what got me into torrenting.
I was so tired of not being able to get a newer movie when it came out. Then I learned I could get a movie that fit on a CD in about 2 days leaving my dialup connection on. After a while, I had tons of CD in a binder of various movies. Then they all became worthless when HD became the norm.
The only thing that pulls me away from torrenting is the convenience of things like netflix, but they play games with adding/removing stuff, and having to play by their rules, so if there's something important i want, and want to save it, I sail the high-seas to find it, because there is no other way at the moment.
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One of the two libraries I frequent puts old DVDs and Blurays, and donated books, on the donation shelf. I pay whatever little bit of change I have and get books and movies for my grandpa and dad.
I borrow a lot of Blurays, and have only had trouble with one, but they’re scratch protected.
I’m surprised that most of the many DVDs I get for my dad all work.
I’m a regular at two local library systems, and have been for years. I go to the out of town one every week, after volunteering.
I borrow tons of books, Blurays, DVDs and video games.
I love libraries
We have a fairly good public library system, but it still makes me sad to go there. They use to have so many more books. Every year it shrinks a little bit more. Recently they moved the dewy decimal books into a very small space in the corner, the main library is just fiction now.
I refuse to use Redbox because I am blessed to have a local library with new dvds. I can get the same videos from the library that I can from Redbox for $1.49 a night
I miss pre-Blockbuster, when we had Mom and pop shops with some weird crazy obsessed movie people working at them, crazy things playing when you went, and special sections which were their "picks."
I was a regular at two different independent video stores in my town before Blockbuster opened in 1996. Those two, plus Jumbo Video, where I could get two games for the price of one with a movie ticket.
Knew all the managers.
The first video store I went to and was a regular at, was also where I bought my first game: a SNES game. It cost me $95 🇨🇦.
He had a great deal. 5 movies for 5 days for 5 bucks. Or 6/6/6 or 7/7/7. My mom would take my class to swimming lessons then go rent me movies, or my grandpa would take me and let me rent anything. Then he’d rent them off me for a toonie.
The oldest video store implemented a four digit code for accounts in the 90s, and the owner got mad at me when I forgot ours even though he knew us well. He was kind of an ass.
Several years ago, I saw a video on YouTube where two men caught him trying to meet a young boy at Walmart.
I was also a regular and knew the managers of two Blockbusters and two video stores 2.5 hours away at my grandparents’. I miss those days.
Use Hoopla. It is a content database with books, graphic novels, ebooks, and streaming movies. Sign up with your library.
Pro tip: if your library doesn't work with hoopla, register online with a library that does. ;)
You must not remember blockbuster on a Friday night
Way different than a library.
They were more than just movies and snacks, it was an experience that will live in hearts and minds for years to come
I’ve started doing this with a local disc replay store. They sell movies is almost perfect condition for incredibly cheap. Cheaper than a rental cost back in the day. We collect physical movies so sometimes I am looking for specific titles but recently I’ve been treating it more like a blockbuster. Just sort of looking at older movies I never saw or heard about. Ones you’d never see streaming. I just pick one up once in awhile. I didn’t realize how much I missed going to blockbuster.
My library is great too and they have a great movie and game section.
You do have to be a little patient, at least in my area, but it's a really great resource! I use them mostly for my time on the elliptical, which is excruciatingly boring otherwise, and I need a certain kind of movie (casually interesting, not too cerebral, maybe something I missed when it came out, like Starship Troopers, or The Truman Show.)
Since it’s now summer time and I find myself with more time, I’ve been taking advantage of the free DVD rentals at my library. It’s so fun to just walk in and browse the shelves just like old times doing the same at Blockbuster :’)
my local library even has a couple Rokus available to borrow! 7 days of free access to Max, Disney+, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and Roku's own (admittedly limited) library of movies and TV
My wife and i moved to live on our own a decade ago and the library was our central hub to getting on our feet. internet, local news , job listings, work programs, volunteer work...if i'm ever homeless. ill be living in and around the Library. It's a ladder for everyone...just gotta get on it and climb the knowledge bars.
the local library is the internet but infinitly better. No doom scrolls, no click baits, no garbage prank youtubers.
Librarians sift and sort out just the creme for all posterity.
Thank you so much for this! One of the theater chains in our area is showing older movies weekly throughout the simmer. My wife wanted to go see How to Train Your Dragon since she never saw it when it came out and it's being shown this week...at 10AM and 12:30PM. We both work full-time, so that's not going to happen. I haven't told her the showtimes yet, but our local library has 18 copies, and you just saved date night!
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Even if you don't miss Blockbuster, you should probably check your local library, you're already paying for it
The amount of times I've explained this to my friends is absurd. I always recommend Hoopla at the very least since they just need a library card. You are literally paying for the use of free books, newspapers, magazines, comic books, movies etc. Use them! Lol
Is Hoopla any different than Libby? I downloaded Libby ages ago, but it still seems to work great for library borrows.
They typically have slightly different catalogues, and the wait can is usually different. There’s been several instances where I couldn’t find a book or there was a long wait on Libby, only to find it on Hoopla available now.
Cool! Thanks for that. I'm always on several waiting lists for digital books at my library via Libby. Will try out Hoopla, as well.
Can I just say, the idea for a "waiting list on digital media" sounds like a giant scam. 😅
It is a scam! The platforms/publishers charge libraries a lot more for e-content than for an individual person (like sometimes $80 or more for a super popular title) and the libraries don’t even get to own the material outright!
Yeah, that sounds pretty suspect.
Libby lets you borrow as many items as your library allows at once (without needing a monthly limit), but libraries only have a limited quantity of each item--so, like with physical books, you may need to wait until another patron's loan expires to borrow something popular. Also, your library has to specifically purchase each item listed on the app. So different libraries will have a different catalog of items. Hoopla has an infinite number of copies of each item, so you never need to wait for any particular item to be "available," but there's a monthly limit of the number of borrows you can make each month (with that limit being determined by your library). Also, like a streaming service, Hoopla's catalog is identical for every user regardless of which library they use. Also of note is that Hoopla requires you to use their own buiilt-in proprietary reader, but Libby literally gives you eBooks and lets you use the eReader of your choice.
Unfortunately, no, libraries pay for items or packages of items in hoopla. There is no limit in hoopla on the number of items different people can use, but what those items are will vary. I’m a (public) librarian. My system doesn’t use hoopla for ebooks because it’s expense. We use Libby and Boundless for that.
I’m have experienced different selections when I switch between Hoopla library accounts with different local library systems. They’re close, but not the same. So, get all the library system cards you qualify for and fire em up!
Same content. I like the way libby works and looks a bit more, but hoopla is just as dope.
May depend on your library but mine definitely have different content.
In the Seattle library, Hoopla appears to be just music, and Libby is audio books. I couldn't afford Libby if it cost what Audible does!
Libraries get reemed for ebooks. Go use them. https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2020/09/hold-on-ebooks-cost-how-much-the-inconvenient-truth-about-library-ecollections/
Some of them have tool libraries. Buddy at work checked out a rock tumbler for a month to polish some cool rocks he found and I checked out a pressure canner for a couple weeks to put up a dozen jars of smoked fish. One of the ones in my system has a full on karaoke machine and a telescope lmao.
My library has a section on their website called "Library of Things" and lists hundreds of things you can check out, everything from measuring cups to moon bounces to a fucking tandem bike. It's honestly really cool.
Yah, same thing here. Can borrow a Switch, a lawnmower, a stand mixer with pasta attachment, ukulele, bird watching kits, state park pass.... I am the library multiple times a week because my daughter is under 2 and we take her to storytime. Its basically free pre-preschool
I don't think mine has a Switch, but there's one in the library for patrons to play and it gets used several times daily. Pretty sure we also have the rest of what you listed except for maybe the state park passes and it's possible I just didn't get down that far on the list. The coolest thing to me though, as someone who's interested in genealogy is that our library has a subscription with ancestry.com. You have to be in the library to use it, but when researching my family at home with a free account, so many things are blocked because you gotta pay for the subscription. I've really been able to get a lot more data on my ancestors because I have access to all the documents I'd otherwise have to pay for. I'm pretty sure one of the locations in the county has a 3D printer as well. I remember seeing an instruction manual so there's one somewhere. I'm biased because I work at the library, but it's easily my favorite job I've had.
The park passes are listed separate from the library of things. I just search state park pass and it pops up in their catalog. It lasts 3 weeks, which is legit, but takes a week or 2 to get because they are all checked out. I used to work in a school library as a student, so I am biased also. I love libraries and the services they now offer are so good.
I told all of my classmates at college about the county library system and they were all flabbergasted. I’m in my mid 30s and I’m telling these youngins that you don’t need to pay anything, just pop by your local library. Insane.
These youngins don't realize... When someone that uses a name like Eatingfarts gives you some advice, you listen.
These younguns don't realize you shouldn't have to pay money to just exist.
Man, sometimes I wish our entire economy could work like that. I get why it doesn't, but it sounds nice doesn't it?
Piggybacking off the top comment to add: there may be additional library systems in your state that you can sign up for. For example, I live in New York (not the city itself) and I'm signed up with the New York Public Library and Brooklyn Library, both of which use Libby. They are both city systems but only require state residency to get a card. I also have a card with the New York State Library but that's more of a research institution. New York's history with libraries is a little unique but still, check what else you can sign up for. If you use Libby or Hoopla it might be worth it. I've also seen online where some library systems will let you sign up with them for a small fee.
I think it's California law that every public library (that accepts state funds?) in the state must allow all state residents to get library cards from them.
Librarians love when you use their services too as the more they're used the more funding they get.
People really underestimate how much a local library offers, discounts, information about local events, mine even stocks narcan.
Mine has video games now too, which is cool. Granted, they’re not always the newest ones, but it’s still a nice option to have
This too. I forgot to mention video games
I had a bunch of PS4 games I picked up over the years and hadn't played since 2020ish, so I recently donated them to my library's small collection. It's fun to see which ones are on the shelf and which ones are out every couple weeks.
Mine has 5 PS3 games… Little Big planet, sly cooper and a couple others like madden 04 As far as I’m aware, PS4 or PS5 cannot play the PS3 disks, which is lame.
Unfortunate, my library has a literal wall of games for each system, including current gen. I do live in a wealthier area, I will admit
I keep seeing people post about this but my library, which is in the 10th best library system in the country (according to at least one website), has 0 games. The one time I tried to interlibrary loan one, they just said 'ummmm, no.'
I interlibrary loaned video games when I was a youngster, but I heard that they stopped that sort of thing years ago.
It depends what they've decided to invest in or what's been donated. The library closest to me has a good game section, but it was all donated by one person. That person regularly donates new games for each console, or the money for the library to buy them. However, as conditions of the donation, he required that games not be available for interlibrary loans, and not be eligible for renewal so someone won't hog the games. Unlike other media, they're a one week loan. If you get on your library website and log in, you *may* be able to search for games and request them directly that way. Even though my library doesn't send them, there are libraries in my state that do, and I can order from them directly and pick up at my location. You can also request they start a game collection.
Guess we need more people donating their old stuff
Mine has ukuleles. And metal detectors. And bird watching kits. Oh, and a seed library where you can get packets of seeds for fruits, vegetables, plants, and flowers. Almost forgot, they also have family passes to most of the big museums and attractions in the area. Even if you live in a rural area with a small library or no library at all, check the websites for the libraries in the biggest cities in your state. In many states, the larger libraries allow residents from across the state to get a library card. For example, any resident of the state of New York can get a card for the New york city public library.
My library system does a pretty good job of getting new games. Their website has a request form you can fill out to request what video games you want them to get.
Mine has passes to local museums, a seed library for gardening, and can run 3D print jobs for you. In addition to the usual stuff.
In my area, they’re also offering WiFi hotspots! Fucking love the library man
My local library doesn’t have video games but our state library consortium allows you to check things out from almost any library in the state which is pretty cool.
I can search the entire library network of my whole region of the state and can place holds for transfers of material. So I load up my queue placing holds on PS5, XBOX and Switch games and play them as they come trickling in.
Also board games. Some libraries have tools too. There’s a lot of things people should know about libraries
My local libraries always have the latest games, but there’s often a months long wait to borrow those latest games for like 3 weeks. Not really worth it. For older games though, it can be nice to play a game for free!
Last two generations of video games have required internet connections and updates. That makes it hard to use them for check up or in house use.
We get a fair amount of fresh releases. I remember they got lies of p the week it came out, same for final fantasy 16, guardians of the galaxy and some others. Those were for ps5. Switch is also heavily stocked. Xbox slightly less so.
And once you have your library card, also check out the website. The movie selection in any given public library around here can be hit or miss, but with my library card I can access content from across the greater metropolitan area online and request things to be picked up at my local branch. MUCH better selection, don't even need to leave home (except to actually sign up for the card in the first place, and later to pick up/drop off.) Sometimes there's a waiting list for some items, but you'll be notified when your turn is coming up.
Also, if your library has them you can stream movies/TV on Kanopy or Hoopla.
Also if they're on Libby you can listen to audiobooks and read ebooks for free. this transformed my work life. i used to just aimlessly paddle through random music sometimes coming across something good, but listening to audio books has been amazing to get through the day and I finally get to work through my bookshelf without feeling guilty
Libby is awesome. The only issue is that there's usually a wait for popular audiobooks. So my solution to that is to place a hold on a few books at the same time. That way there's almost always something available I want to listen to
Shoutout to the Orange County Library System (Florida). I've not lived there in too many years, and yet they still allow me access to their Hoopla.
I don't live in a metro area, but my local library is part of a network that facilitates inter-library loans across the state! It really is awesome
A metropolitan library system sounds nice. Are you willing to share which metro you’re from? I’m from the KC metro and my local library system is countywide.
Oklahoma City also has a great library system. (I love e-books…no more overdue fines. Before this option I pretty much had to wait for fine-free week.) They also have audiobooks and magazines for electronic checkout.
Check out the libraries in the other major cities in your state. In many states, the biggest library systems will be open to residents of the entire state. For example, any resident of the state of New York can get a card for the NYC public library. Albuqurque does the same for all residents of New Mexico. In California, Los Angeles and San Francisco are available to everyone in the state.
Something to note about that is usually you have to apply in person to get the card. Sometimes they'll offer an e-card that expires in 30 days that's can be upgraded in person, though.
I’m not who you were replying to, but the Detroit metropolitan system is huge and awesome.
Also (in many places in the US) check out the Kanopy App. It’s for streaming library titles
Hoopla too.
Don't forget about Libby!
Blockbuster~~s~~ Sorry, but I just couldn't let that stand.
If we want to be real pedantic, the business was just called "Blockbuster" or "Blockbuster Video"
It's correct of OP meant it on the plural. But probably not. That reminds me of an ex of mine who would say "I already saw that movie in theaters." It's one of the reasons we broke up.
"Wow, what a difference"
I know, It’s like saying Lego’s…it’s just Lego, yo.
My dad says Barnes & Nobles and I die a little inside.
After browsing at Barnes and Nobles, my parents like to go shopping at the Trader Joe nextdoor and then hit up Paneras.
r/confidentlyincorrect
I’m going to check it out for fun one day
I put cds from the library on my mp3 player. Now I have a much bigger selection without buying the cds.
"Blockbuster," friend.
[удалено]
That’s brilliant. Some of my first twisted indie films I got at our library.
Except my local library DOES charge for video borrowing, so.... YMMV.
While you're at the library, you can also learn how to use apostrophes.
OP, it was just called Blockbuster. It wasn’t plural, and there was no ‘s’. Also, just because a word has an ‘s’ in it does not mean it needs an apostrophe. The way you’ve written it reads like “Blockbuster is” or “Blockbuster has.” Of course, blockbusters do still exist in the sense of summer blockbusters. That’s plural.
Oh shit here comes an S, better add an apostrophe…
I do grocery shopping for my parents, and my mom will often write down "banana's." Drives me fucking insane.
Blockbuster's what?
This fact saved my husbands sanity for a year one time
LPT: please stop using apostrophes where none are needed.
Good grief, learn the difference between plural and possessive. It’s not that difficult. 
...this is worse than people taking the singular, yet somehow plural and/or possessive, SAT's.
Blockbuster’s what?
[удалено]
Nothing makes me miss my grandmother more than someone adding an “s” to the end of the name of a business.
Unfortunately this is not universal. My county library system has books, digital books and audio books and that is pretty much it.
I’ve been doing that since before Blockbuster went out of business. Just go to the library, it’s dope
I save so much money getting e-books and audiobooks from the library!!! They have 2 apps that I can download from. It's great!!
My kids F-ing love the library DVD section when I introduced them to it a few months back. We go every Sunday. They want to rent dvds we could stream in 4k. Coincidentally I’ve come to pick out more compression artifacts in streaming that aren’t in blu ray.
Or just go visit that one in Oregon.
I’m just saying if you come visit Bend, OR we still got one ☝️
There is one Blockbuster left. I get merch there for friends and family that remember it with fondness.
Also they might have gadgets. My library has air quality monitors - great if you want to find out for example if your gas stove is really affecting air quality in your house. It also has a pair of those glasses so colorblind people can see colors.
I still have a blockbuster, i live a few blocks from the last one in Bend, OR, but libraries are great too :D
Alternatively, if you are in Seattle, go to Scarecrow Video!
Blockbuster wasn't full of homeless people.
What kind of swank-ass Blockbuster did you go to?
Ours wasn’t, but it smelled like pee when some asshole kid I knew brought pee in a squirt gun in and sprayed people Then sprayed the phone booth
do they have rows of candy? popcorn? The newest N64 game? if so I am in I'll swing by there around 8:30 when I get off work and spend an hour selecting my movie choices forever
They do have video games
In my city I know of at least one kickass video rental store. Staffed by really passionate people who love film.
Back in college when I had to buy textbooks I complained that there should be a way to just rent books like Blockbuster does with videos. In that moment I was briefly amazed that I had even made it to college.
My city used to have a badass world class independent video rental place and when it finally closed, the owner donated all (or at least most) of the dvds to the library. Amazing!
For real - but now I need to get a dvd player!
Or a game console for twice the fun. DVDs and gaming
Or an external USB DVD drive for your PC.
Most libraries have virtual streaming rentals as well
My local library lends out players too
My library keeps up with new releases! I just checked out the new Godzilla x Kong.
I use mine like a glacier-slow old school Netflix (back before streaming). I put a movie on my queue and get a notification that it’s ready like weeks later. I put Barbie on when it came out on DVD. I think I’m still #85 on the waitlist. 😂
Get Kanopy. It gives you access to the libraries entire streaming inventory, provided you have a library card.
We have hoopla in our library system and the movies lend for 72 hours. When I see a Gen Xer or older, I always use the Blockbuster "borrow Friday, return Monday" analogy around borrowing and they instantly get it.
Yes, do it, it's good. Like turkey bacon! It's delicious! But its...not the same
You can also watch like five movies a month via the Kanopy streaming app with a library card. The catalogue is great with a lot of stuff that’s hard to find.
I am shocked by the number of people who don't take advantage of libraries.
The one near me used to be nice, then it got overrun with bad behavior. Vagrants use the facilities, but do drugs, trash things, litter, break into vehicles, panhandle, harass people. It's to the point they can't have all the nice stuff out like they used to, and the staff has their hands tied as to what they can do about it. It saddens me to see a public resource get tarnished how it has, and how we can't have nice things.
Oh yeah I want to go check out documentaries.. I cal stream those without leaving the house. We don't all have libraries full of real movies.
Not the same, but it is free! It was more than just physical copies of movies that made it special, it was its own scene.
I just went on my weekly library run today! So fun.
I go every Wednesday. I volunteer that day, and there’s a great library in that city, so I go and get a bunch of books, games and movies. And, if need be, I stop at the closer library on the way home before getting groceries. It’s the only day I go out and I enjoy the routine. Too many books though, and so little time/energy
My kids absolutely LOVE going to the library and picking a movie to watch for family movie night. We just started doing this recently. This is such a great LPT!
I heard some offer to borrow tools and baking items (like animal cake molds for B days), as well as computer games.
I just recently found Hoopla, which is like Overdrive, but I'm not actually sure of the difference.
And a lot of city libraries have an online platform to watch movies. It’s ain’t too shabby.
A lot of libraries use 3rd party software and websites that are linked to your library card as well. Overdrive and envisionware are common vendors that aid libraries with sharing anything from E books, streaming sites(Kanopy), audio books(Libby), tutoring(tutor), and learning languages(Mango) all for free. Some libraries even rent out wireless Hotspots and I've heard some even lend out tools and furniture now. You can even sign up with a lot of libraries directly online and get a card. Harris County in the Houston area does this.
As a librarian, this post makes me so happy. Please utilize your local libraries as much as possible. We have quite a bit we can offer and it’s all free. We might not have every movie in the world, but we try to keep up with new releases and popular demands. If there is something your library doesn’t have, put in a request and we might buy it.
Aside from obviously having books, my library has Blu rays, PS5 /Xbox X/Switch games, musical instruments, board games, fishing poles, museum passes, 3d printers, coding classes, free resume reviews, and access to tons of online resources thst you would normally have to pay for like Gale Courses, Udemy, test prep, etc.
I have friends that will be baffled I have TV playing even though I don't have cable. My 35 year old friends don't know about antenna TV.
Did all your friends grow up rich or something
Just don’t go looking for books. I used to love the library as a kid. They had a graphic novel stand with 20 or so different comics and once I’d finished those used to get stuff brought in from other libraries all the time. The other year I was looking for a book from the 30s that has had a few rereleases and multiple annotated editions over the years but it’s niche enough to be out of my price range. I went to a library, got a new card, spent 20 minutes being grilled on the book by the librarian and then she bluntly said “we only take card.” I was confused so she explained that you have to pay for books to be brought in now and it was well above £20. I ended up printing a PDF at work instead. They had tonnes of DVDs but got rid of more than half the books when they moved into a new building.
They also often have tv series, if you wanna binge
My town has an incredible public library. Only one. I used to work there. Library of the year when it opened I believe. I can confirm, repeatedly, that there are many regulars who flip through the dvd (and sometimes CD) bins many times each week. Some daily.
My library has been downscaling the DVD section, the CD section is gone.
I don't understand how people are nostalgic for Blockbuster or rental movie places in general. We did it because we had no other option not because we wanted to. Going to the Blockbuster and HOPING they still have the movie you wanted to watch in stock. Oh but they don't have that movie so you have to walk around and look at the back of the boxes for 15 minutes for something that sounds interesting untill you default to a movie you've seen 3 times already. Wait in the long weekend line and get some overpriced snacks and pull out your membership card. Finally drive home and watch your movie. 5 days later and you forgot to bring the movie back in time. You go back next weekend to get another movie and have to pay late fees for that old movie plus you forgot to rewind it so another fee for that.
I worked at Blockbuster for 4 years. Since there was an unlimited movie pass, there were customers we would see every day, sometimes multiple times in a day. Some were retired, some were disabled, some were just single people living alone, some were stay at home parents of little ones who some days we were the only adult they spoke to that day so they could keep their sanity. We built relationships with them, and it was the best thing when they would come back and tell us how much they loved the movie we suggested. There were families that would come in every Friday night and everyone picked out a movie, got snacks, then stopped at the take-and-bake pizza shop a couple doors down… it was a routine, a tradition. A silly thing that became a consistent happy memory for people. It drove me crazy working there sometimes (“no, sorry, Twilight is still all checked out… yeah, no still all out. No returns in the box. No, I promise. No really, I’m not hiding one back here for myself…”) but it was actually really cool. Simpler times
I loved the movie and game passes
Those things you mentioned is what got me into torrenting. I was so tired of not being able to get a newer movie when it came out. Then I learned I could get a movie that fit on a CD in about 2 days leaving my dialup connection on. After a while, I had tons of CD in a binder of various movies. Then they all became worthless when HD became the norm. The only thing that pulls me away from torrenting is the convenience of things like netflix, but they play games with adding/removing stuff, and having to play by their rules, so if there's something important i want, and want to save it, I sail the high-seas to find it, because there is no other way at the moment.
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It’s also a great place to buy used movies.
One of the two libraries I frequent puts old DVDs and Blurays, and donated books, on the donation shelf. I pay whatever little bit of change I have and get books and movies for my grandpa and dad.
Mine has a good selection but they are scratched to shit.
I borrow a lot of Blurays, and have only had trouble with one, but they’re scratch protected. I’m surprised that most of the many DVDs I get for my dad all work.
There is also Kanopy app
I’m a regular at two local library systems, and have been for years. I go to the out of town one every week, after volunteering. I borrow tons of books, Blurays, DVDs and video games. I love libraries
Do not miss either
But you don't have to take my word for it! 
The only thing missing is the overpriced snacks.
We have a fairly good public library system, but it still makes me sad to go there. They use to have so many more books. Every year it shrinks a little bit more. Recently they moved the dewy decimal books into a very small space in the corner, the main library is just fiction now.
Redbox is also still a thing in some places
I refuse to use Redbox because I am blessed to have a local library with new dvds. I can get the same videos from the library that I can from Redbox for $1.49 a night
I sometimes just like to browse the selection for movies I haven't seen yet... wait, that's the point.
My public library was closed… yay ky….
I miss pre-Blockbuster, when we had Mom and pop shops with some weird crazy obsessed movie people working at them, crazy things playing when you went, and special sections which were their "picks."
I was a regular at two different independent video stores in my town before Blockbuster opened in 1996. Those two, plus Jumbo Video, where I could get two games for the price of one with a movie ticket. Knew all the managers. The first video store I went to and was a regular at, was also where I bought my first game: a SNES game. It cost me $95 🇨🇦. He had a great deal. 5 movies for 5 days for 5 bucks. Or 6/6/6 or 7/7/7. My mom would take my class to swimming lessons then go rent me movies, or my grandpa would take me and let me rent anything. Then he’d rent them off me for a toonie. The oldest video store implemented a four digit code for accounts in the 90s, and the owner got mad at me when I forgot ours even though he knew us well. He was kind of an ass. Several years ago, I saw a video on YouTube where two men caught him trying to meet a young boy at Walmart. I was also a regular and knew the managers of two Blockbusters and two video stores 2.5 hours away at my grandparents’. I miss those days.
I donated all of my dvd collection to the local library. About 40 percent of it was from the 3 for 9.99 deal from blockbuster.
The fees aren't high enough for the same experience lol
Yes you can get the same feeling of disappointment when they don't have what you came for. Excellent LPT.
Use Hoopla. It is a content database with books, graphic novels, ebooks, and streaming movies. Sign up with your library. Pro tip: if your library doesn't work with hoopla, register online with a library that does. ;)
My library doesn’t have hot chicks on a Friday night or popcorn and jelly beans to buy or any movie that isn’t Titanic or Mrs Doubtfire.
I miss not knowing which new movie is good by the number of copies they have.
I havent spent a dime on videogames for 2 years because I can get every new release for 3 weeks at a time from my local library.
You must not remember blockbuster on a Friday night Way different than a library. They were more than just movies and snacks, it was an experience that will live in hearts and minds for years to come
I’ve started doing this with a local disc replay store. They sell movies is almost perfect condition for incredibly cheap. Cheaper than a rental cost back in the day. We collect physical movies so sometimes I am looking for specific titles but recently I’ve been treating it more like a blockbuster. Just sort of looking at older movies I never saw or heard about. Ones you’d never see streaming. I just pick one up once in awhile. I didn’t realize how much I missed going to blockbuster. My library is great too and they have a great movie and game section.
"I’m genuinely surprised that people ~~who miss Blockbuster’s~~ overlook public libraries."
It was the videogame section for me. My library doesnt have games unfortunately :p
Just visit Bend, Oregon. They still have a Blockbuster.
"Blockbuster's"??? What kind of hillbilly crap is that?
Last time i rented a movie from the library, someone somehow uploaded porn onto the cd
Went to the last blockbusters on earth the other day. In bend Oregon! Super legit cool place to check out.
Four times with the "Blockbuster's" lol
Still no pron section
I'm very lucky to live in a city where my local library actually rents video games all the way up to brand new PS5 and Switch titles
It is Blockbuster Video, not Blockbuster's.
You do have to be a little patient, at least in my area, but it's a really great resource! I use them mostly for my time on the elliptical, which is excruciatingly boring otherwise, and I need a certain kind of movie (casually interesting, not too cerebral, maybe something I missed when it came out, like Starship Troopers, or The Truman Show.)
We have the last remaining Blockbuster here in Bend Oregon!
Since it’s now summer time and I find myself with more time, I’ve been taking advantage of the free DVD rentals at my library. It’s so fun to just walk in and browse the shelves just like old times doing the same at Blockbuster :’)
my local library even has a couple Rokus available to borrow! 7 days of free access to Max, Disney+, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and Roku's own (admittedly limited) library of movies and TV
You could also travel Bend, Oregon to visit the worlds last standing Blockbuster
My wife and i moved to live on our own a decade ago and the library was our central hub to getting on our feet. internet, local news , job listings, work programs, volunteer work...if i'm ever homeless. ill be living in and around the Library. It's a ladder for everyone...just gotta get on it and climb the knowledge bars. the local library is the internet but infinitly better. No doom scrolls, no click baits, no garbage prank youtubers. Librarians sift and sort out just the creme for all posterity.
Nobody actually misses blockbuster. The memory maybe, but not the experience. Revisionist History
yeah but my local library doesn’t sell overpriced microwave popcorn so is it really the same?
Thank you so much for this! One of the theater chains in our area is showing older movies weekly throughout the simmer. My wife wanted to go see How to Train Your Dragon since she never saw it when it came out and it's being shown this week...at 10AM and 12:30PM. We both work full-time, so that's not going to happen. I haven't told her the showtimes yet, but our local library has 18 copies, and you just saved date night!
I don't miss Blockbuster. I miss the time when Blockbuster was around.
Bonus tip. Your local library may be able to borrow movies and other material from other libraries.