We habitually spend a lot of time in daily routines, and we hear about cool stuff from the same sources. As such, we tend to lack awareness of things that don’t have the capability to advertise broadly. So, what’s something you expect many people don’t hear about or consider for use in their life?

  • Katana314@lemmy.worldOP
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    1 day ago

    It’s common to think of libraries as Public Book Rental, but recently most have expanded their services quite a lot.

    • Rentals of items many households may only need briefly, like tools to find insulation gaps
    • Online services that allow for digital renting of comics, manga, audiobooks, and even streaming services like Kanopy that have both old and new movies/TV shows
    • Printing services; so that you don’t need to buy an ink cartridge for one printout one month, then another 4 months later when that cartridge has dried
    • Tax prep assistance; because fuck Intuit

    Libraries were admittedly the reason I started the thread but I’m also curious what other things will be mentioned.

    • VeryVito@lemmy.ml
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      1 day ago

      Libraries are one of the only public places left where you’re not expected to spend (or even need) money.

    • iamnotafishuq@lemmy.zip
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      1 day ago

      Our public library has a whole 18 hole putt-putt golf setup that they trailer and set up inside the various branches during the year. Kids play during the day and the adults pay to play after hours with free drinks and Hors d’Oeuvres. Usually a silent raffle as well (I won 3 six packs of beer and a tasting set of glasses last month)

    • kooks_only@lemmy.ca
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      22 hours ago

      My library even has 5G routers you can rent for 3 months at a time. Really great option to get internet at home if you’re on a tight budget.

    • neidu3@sh.itjust.worksM
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      11 hours ago

      Shout out to the librarians in Gulfport, MS. They were really helpful and friendly when some haggard dork with a weird foreign accent showed up out of the blue in desperate need for a printer to deal with some DHS forms.