Everything you can do with a simple library card

Posted

When you think summer, especially in Wantagh and Seaford, you probably think of swimming, tanning, concerts, vacations, and so on.

But with summer approaching, it’s always good to see what’s happening at our local libraries. And with a library card, it turns out there’s a lot — and it’s not just books and movies.

On April 9, the Wall Street Journal reported on how much money you can save simply by acquiring one of these cards. According to Wantagh Library Director Shannon Marchese, interest in library programs rose after that article.

Both the Wantagh and Seaford public libraries have a variety of exciting programs that become immediately available once you have your card.

Wantagh’s programs include “Career Cruising,” “Consumer Reports,” “JobNow,” “LinkedIn Learning,” “Pronunciator,” “Tutor.com,” and “Value Line.”

Career Cruising is for all ages — it can help students find what colleges and majors interest them or help adults find good job matches. Consumer Reports, which the Seaford Library offers as well, has been around for over 80 years, and also comes with a card.

“Any products that you’re looking to buy especially household appliances, or cars, any high ticket items, and you want to do your research before making a purchase? Consumer Reports is going to have all the information you need about those products,” Shannon Marchese said. “And then come the holidays, if you’re looking for gift giving, and you want to see if this is this a good deal? Go to Consumer Reports, they’ll show you what the resale value going rate is.”

LinkedIn Learning teaches users anything they can think of — from job hunting, to cloud computing, marketing, photography, animation, and more. It offers over 16,000 online courses in seven different languages.

Pronunciator offers personalized courses, movies, and music in 163 languages.

“Without having to commit to payment, if you want to just learn a few words before you travel, Pronunciator can help you with that,” Marchese said.

Tutor.com connects students one-on-one with a tutor.

The Wantagh Library also offers Value Line, which provides access to various surveys that can streamline investment strategies, with access to stocks and expert analysis.

The Seaford Public Library, in addition to also offering Consumer Reports, offers various museum passes to museums all over Long Island — both Nassau and Suffolk — and New York City with a library card. Seaford offers a job training program called “JobNow,” which provides live, interactive help and resources to help get through the necessary tasks to get a job. It also offers Kanopy, a video streaming service through which you can find movies, documentaries, foreign films, independent films, and so on.

Seaford also offers “Libby/Overdrive” and “TumbeBooks Library,” both of which offer a variety of books, magazines, games, read-alongs, and more.

How do you go about getting a library card?

If you reside within the borders of the Wantagh School District, you qualify automatically for a library card, and the same is true for the Seaford Library if you reside in the Seaford School District.

For information on how to get a Wantagh Public Library card, visit tinyurl.com/WantaghLibraryCard. For information on how to get a Seaford Public Library card, visit tinyurl.com/SeafordLibraryCard.