Phoenix Public Library Card Secret Perks

If you don’t have a Phoenix Public Library card, you’re missing out on some amazing perks. We’ve written up several posts about library systems all around the country but this one is definitely our favorite!

Here are just a few of the great things that Phoenix Public Library offers:

• Check out a Culture Pass for FREE admission to 16 different museums and cultural attractions… and even select live performances! We’ve got all the details below.
• Get FREE seeds from the Seed Library. You can get 3 seed packets every 3 weeks! While you’re picking up your seeds, stop by a FREE gardening workshop and learn more about everything from planting to composting.
• Borrow a TrickleStar Energy Monitor to help you assess your home energy use and figure out how to reduce your power bill!

Download free movies, audio books, e-books and more!

The Phoenix Public Library offers access to many different types of software. Some can be checked out for home use; others can be used directly from the Internet!

• Download 5 free songs every week! Use your Phoenix Public Library card to login to Freegal. You can keep your downloads forever. They never expire! You can also access music on Hoopla. 
• Stream free movies with Hoopla and the Greater Phoenix Digital Library.
• Access free e-Books like the TumbleBook Library, Books 24/7, One Click Digital, Chilton’s Car and Truck Repair Library, 
• Download free audio books from the Greater Phoenix Digital Library, Axis 360, One Click Digital and Hoopla. 
• Download digital magazines from Zinio, Flipster, Consumer Reports Online and EBSCO MasterFILE Premier. There are more than 300 available – and some are enhanced with audio, video and live links!
• Access digital newspapers with Zinio, Arizona Republic archives, NewsStand Online Newspapers and PressReader. 

The MACH1 Lab is a Space for Makers, Artists, Crafters and Hackers.

I’m in absolute love with the MACH1 space offered by the Phoenix Public Library. You’ll find it on the 4th floor of the Burton Barr Central Library. The space is open between 1 pm and 8 pm on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

At Mach1, you’ll find some amazing high-tech creation equipment that can help you do some amazing things, including:

• Video game design
• Coding
• Video editing
• Science
• Astrobiology
• Robotics
• 3D modeling

Get FREE museum passes from the Phoenix Public Library!

The Phoenix Public Library offers a culture pass to interested patrons. The pass provides FREE admission to two people at a participating venue or performance event. Passes are available on a first-come, first-serve basis. They cannot be renewed or placed on hold. The passes are limited to one pass per family at a time and only two passes per family every month.

You can check out a culture pass for the following institutions:

• Arcosanti
• Arizona Science Center (children 2 and under are FREE!)
• AZ Heritage Center at Papago Park (children 6 and under are FREE!)
• Cave Creek Museum (children 11 and under are FREE!)
• Deer Valley Petroglyph Preserve (children 5 and under are FREE!)
• Desert Botanical Garden (children 2 and under are FREE!)
• Desert Cabelleros Western Museum (children 17 and under are FREE!)
• Halle Heart Children’s Museum (children 3 and under are FREE!)
• Heard Museum (children 5 and under are FREE!)
• Irish Cultural Center
• Japanese Friendship Garden (children 5 and under are FREE!)
• Phoenix Art Museum (children 5 and under are FREE!)
• Pueblo Grande Museum (children 5 and under are FREE!)
• Rosson House Museum
• Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art (children 15 and under are FREE!)
• Superstition Mountain Museum (children 17 and under are FREE!)

Click here for a list of upcoming Culture Pass performances!

Learn new skills with online and offline library resources!

Take a water safety class at the library! These one-hour programs help you learn how to keep yourself and your family safe around water. Supervision, barriers, appropriate flotation devices and more are discussed. The Phoenix Fire Department, Phoenix Aquatics and SRP all participate in this program.

Learn something new with Universal Class. There are over 500 classes to choose from. You’ll learn at your own pace while working with a real instructor. From Algebra to Yoga, there’s something for everyone!

Learn new skills and take practice tests with Learning Express Library, Typing Quest and GCF Learn Free.

Learn a new language with PowerSpeak Languages, Rocket Languages and Pronunciator.

Discover your genealogy with exclusive online tools from your library!

Become a US Citizen with help from the Phoenix Public Library. You can access free reading materials, practice tests, English language learning and more.

Learn something new with exclusive access to databases like Gale Virtual Reference, World Book Encyclopedia Online,

Need to continue your education or get a job?

Get a scholarship and earn an accredited high school diploma through the Phoenix Public Library’s Career Online High School. Applicants must be Phoenix residents who are at least 21 years old and have a library card in good standing. You must have completed at least one year of high school to enroll.

Pursue an apprenticeship with help from the College Depot at Phoenix Public Library! They’ll offer one-on-one personalized advice and support as you decide whether an apprenticeship is right for you and how to get started.

Get help with your job search. The library will assist with resume writing, interview skills, computer skills, job skills development and more. Online classes like Resume Writing 101 and Interview Skills 101 can also help.

Get help with your small business or nonprofit organization as well.

Got kids? They’ll love these the Phoenix Public Library!

The Kid’s Cafe provides meals and literacy activities to over 300 children and teens every week! 

Kindergarten Boot Camp helps prepare new kindergartners through seven 1-hour sessions. These classes are taught kindergarten readiness skills through games and activities that make learning fun! Tools for School is also available for children 3 to 5 years old who are not yet entering kindergarten. 

Check out their kid spaces. They have designated child spaces with computers, hands-on learning surfaces and play areas. Click here to see the child space in your local library!

Teens have access to special library resources, too.

Teen Central provides a space designed by teens, for teens, on the 4th floor of the Burton Barr Central Library. Dedicated to teens between 12-18, Teen Central offers computers, reading areas, a movie area, an art gallery, teen workshops and leadership meetings. 

Publish your work in Create!zine by submitting it to any Phoenix Public Library branch with a signed parental release form! You can also help publish the next issue of the magazine by participating in the meetings on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of every month at the Teen Central location in the Burton Barr Central Library!

Special teen events are also available at libraries throughout Phoenix!

Volunteer at the library and earn service credits toward your schooling!

Free full service college planning is available at the Burton Barr Central Library in downtown Phoenix. A team of college planning advisers and assistants provide workshops and one-on-one appointments to help you navigate admissions, financial aid, scholarship and more.

Disabled patrons can receive home delivery.

Homebound patrons can receive Books by Mail. The library will send large print books and Talking Books to those who are homebound and unable to visit the library. To qualify, you must be a resident of Maricopa County.

Nicole Thelin

Nicole is the owner and lead researcher for Low Income Relief. She has over 20 years of professional research and writing experience, and she has been solely dedicated to investigating low income topics for the last 10 years. Nicole started Low Income Relief after a personal experience with poverty. When her husband was medically discharged from the US Army, their family experienced tremendous financial hardship. Nicole was able to gather help from multiple community agencies and move into a nearby low income housing unit in just two weeks! Since then, Nicole has been dedicated to helping low income families in crisis. She regularly spends hundreds of hours combing through countless resources to make sure that Low Income Relief has the most comprehensive and complete resource directories on the internet today. Prior to starting Low Income Relief, Nicole worked as a novelist, journalist, ghostwriter and content creator. Her work has been featured in various print and online publications, including USA Today, The Daily Herald, The Chronicle and more. Her work has also been featured by Google for Publishers and other leading industry publications.