A walk through Lexington’s well-loved library reveals some of its most popular amenities: shelves upon shelves of books, gaming PCs, private study rooms, and a restricted teen-only section. However, a quick stroll through Cary doesn’t reveal the extent of benefits you can access simply by signing up for a free library card.
To find out what else Cary Memorial Library offers, the LexObserver did some of its own exploring and interviewed library staff members. We’ve compiled seven free library resources beyond study spaces, air-conditioning, and Wi-Fi that we think more people should know about.
- Museum Passes
With a library card, Lexington residents can obtain free or discounted access to museums and other attractions across New England. Notable destinations include the Museum of Fine Arts, New England Aquarium, and Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. You can reserve one pass a day up to 60 days in advance of a visit, and the reservation process occurs completely online. Some museums will then require you to pick up a physical coupon provided by the library, while others will accept printed or mobile display passes.
- Online Databases
Cary Library’s online resources page allows library card holders to browse several paywalled databases from home. Click on the database link within Cary’s website, enter your card information, and you’ll be able to browse JSTOR, a popular academic library, Consumer Reports, a hub for comparing and assessing consumer products, and Morningstar, an investment research tool. Other online resources include O’Reilly, a skills development platform for technology and business, and the Oxford English Dictionary.
About a year ago, Cary Library also bought access to Examine, a comprehensive database with information on supplements and nutrition.
“There’s so many products being pushed on Instagram, TikTok, and you’re like, ‘how do I evaluate any of these claims?’” Jennifer Webb, the library’s Head of Bibliographic Services, said. “Examine has reliable information on supplements which is very hard to find.”
Cary Library also provides access to the streaming service Kanopy, which offers over 30,000 documentaries, movies, and television shows and specializes in arthouse film. While only available through library computers, American Ancestors contains reliable genealogy information for anybody hoping to find a lost relative.
“Each of these products has their own personality,” Cathie Ghorbani, the Assistant Director for Adult Services, said.
- Newspapers
On the same webpage listing databases, there’s a section titled “Newspapers & Current Events” that provides links to major news outlets. Using a library card, Lexington residents can browse the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe and Washington Post from home. Cary Library is one of few libraries that provides access to the latter.
“For the Times and the Globe, we also have the historical database. So you can actually see full page views of historical papers,” Webb added.
The library also has records of Lexington’s own historical newspapers, such as searchable files of the Lexington Minuteman dating back to its founding in 1871, as well as the David Reiner papers — which discuss the work of the Lexington Civil Rights Committee and Lexington/Boston Fair Housing Federation in the 1960s.
For those who prefer reading current events, Cary Library provides access to US Major Dailies, a database that publishes articles from the Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune. Other papers are available through the Access World News Research Collection.
- Interlibrary Loans
If there’s a paywalled article that Cary Library can’t provide, you can use the interlibrary loan system to request access from libraries across the nation. The interlibrary loan system lets library members borrow books, CDs, DVDs and articles that don’t exist in the Minuteman or Commonwealth library networks. For articles, a librarian will typically email them to you within a day or two. Other media may take 2-4 weeks to arrive.
- Library of Things
A trending service among libraries has been to lend out non-traditional items. Cary Library’s Library of Things allows library card holders to borrow anything from air quality monitors to birding kits and ukuleles — categories range from home products to classic board games. A recent addition to Cary’s Library of Things was a steam cleaner set, complete with a jet nozzle scraper, scrubbing pad and brushes. Members of any Minuteman library can access the Library of Things and borrow an item for two weeks at a time.
- Book Recommendations
You don’t need to speak to a librarian to get book recommendations. Cary Library has its own online recommendation form for adults, where staff members will personally recommend 4-5 titles based on your answers to a few questions: genres you’re looking for, media you recently enjoyed/disliked, and story elements you want to see or avoid.
The process is simpler for teenagers and children. Cary Library offers book bundles for minors, where a librarian will hand-pick ten books for you to check out as one item. Teen book bundles can be requested once every two weeks, and children’s bundles can be requested once a week per family. Both services require you to fill out a quick form about preferences.
Librarians also recommended the book discovery database NoveList Plus (accessible remotely using your library card) for finding new titles.
“They’ve got themed lists and it’s all curated by librarians. So if you look up a book or an author you like, they will suggest other things that are similar and they’ll tell you why they suggest them,” Webb said.
While NoveList Plus takes time to explore, the library also sends out a Cary Reads newsletter with general book recommendations from staff members.
- Special Collections
In tune with the town’s historical nature, Cary Library houses a few collections about colonial and revolutionary life. The largest is the Edwin B. Worthen Collection, a collection of around 500 books along with additional photographs, drawings, maps and research notes documenting 19-20th century life in Lexington.
The Worthen Collection was donated in 1976 by local historian and collector Edwin B. Worthen. Today, most of the items (save a few major works) are in-library access only, and sit in a climate-controlled room by the library’s front entrance. It is recommended to browse a scanned version of the collection online first to find items of interest, then locate them in person. There is a tab on Cary Library’s catalog search bar that allows people to exclusively search the Worthen Collection.
In the same room as the Worthen Collection sits the library’s accumulation of Lexington High School yearbooks. While physical copies of the yearbooks are not able to be checked out, the library offers full access to a digital archive of yearbooks dating back to 1935.
“When you’re getting ready for your 20th reunion, you don’t have to come in the building to use the books. You can actually do some preparation from home,” Ghorbani said.
More Resources Await
The list of resources here isn’t comprehensive. Cary Library also hosts a number of virtual and in-person events, including book clubs and author talks (many of which are recorded and posted on the library’s YouTube channel), as well as summer reading challenges and informational newsletters. There’s more to explore on the library website, whether it be teacher baskets with curated materials or dozens of instructions for DIY crafts.
“We want to get you behind the paywall as much as we possibly can,” Webb said.