By Cara Luddy, Communications Assistant at Central Library

With all Onondaga County Public Libraries closed to the public right now, many people are worried about having access to free entertainment, especially now that children are home from school. Fortunately, OCPL has much more to offer than its physical collection with plenty of online resources geared at people of all ages.

To see even more free digital resources, visit www.onlib.org/find/e-books-and-more . Have questions or need help? Send an email to reference@onlib.org and we’ll respond to you as soon as possible.

OverDrive offers eBooks, audiobooks, and magazines.

OverDrive and Libby (available to all OCPL cardholders)

Browse thousands of eBooks and audiobooks, as well as current issues of many popular magazines on OverDrive and download them to your device in the comfort of your home. Not familiar with Libby? Libby is the streamlined app produced by OverDrive for tablets, eReaders, and smartphones. It has all the same titles, but in a much more intuitive format that’s perfect for smaller devices.

Hoopla offers eBooks, audiobooks, TV shows, and movies.

Hoopla (contact your local library to see if they provide Hoopla)

In addition to a library of eBooks and audiobooks, Hoopla offers an impressive collection of movies, TV shows, and music. Titles can be viewed and downloaded onto a computer or smart device. You can also stream Hoopla to a TV on a Roku, Amazon Fire Stick, or using Chromecast.

Lynda offers online courses and various learning paths.

Lynda (available to all OCPL cardholders)

Learn career skills from industry experts at your own pace and view courses on your computer or smart device. To access your free Lynda account on a smart device, download the app then open it, choose ‘Already a Lynda member?’ and select ‘Organization’ on the top right of the menu bar, scroll down to ‘Web Portal,’ type in onlib.org and tap log in, you will be prompted to enter your library card’s number and four-digit pin.

FamilySearch Digital Library offers digitized family and local histories.

FamilySearch Digital Library (available to all OCPL cardholders)

The Family History Library is the largest genealogical library in the world, with partner organizations (including OCPL’s own Local History & Genealogy Department) actively contributing to it. Explore digitized documents to learn more about local history and start your own genealogical research.