6 Online Freebies from Canberra Libraries

Here are some of the digital services that you can access online with a Libraries ACT card:

Stream Movies and TV Shows

Stream thousands of free films and TV shows through the Kanopy and Beamafilm streaming apps. You can watch these apps through your smartphone, tablet or smart tv and also access them through a browser. There’s a big mix of content available and a surprising number of blockbuster movies.

Learn a Language

Libraries ACT provides access to the Mango Language Learning app. It’s similar to Duolingo and you can learn over 70 different languages. It’s currently the highest rated language app on the App Store.

Stream Music

Apps like Spotify and Apple Music are how most people choose to listen to music these days. Freegal is a similar streaming app with over 18 million songs. It basically has a similar music library to the top streaming apps. With a library card in Canberra you get access to unlimited streaming. If you like to download music, you can download 5 songs per day. These mp3 files are DRM free so you can keep them forever and play them on any device!

Read Magazines

The Libby App has pretty much every popular magazine including current issues and a back catalogue. You can read all of these magazines for free through the app and online. Magazines have no check-out system so you also don’t need to wait for access like you do with ebooks.

Research Genealogy

Did you know that Libraries ACT provides access to popular genealogy apps like Ancestry and MyHeritage for free. Your Library Card will give you access to a “Library” version of these apps which unlocks various databases that you usually have to pay for.

Ebooks and Audiobooks

ACT Libraries provides two popular apps for eBooks and audiobooks - Libby and Borrowbox. The apps let you reserve and borrow a huge selections of books and read or listen to them through your smartphone or tablet. Unfortunately these don’t work with Kindle e-readers in Australia but they do work with the Kobo e-reader.

How to Access Digital Resources

To access all of these resources you will need a Libraries ACT card. These are free and you can sign up online. You will need to visit a Library to verify your address, before a card is sent out.

Once you have a library card, visit the Digital Resources page to browse through the available apps and websites you can access. You will need to sign in to each of these sites using your library details.

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