1. Get Discounts at Museums and Parks

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Lake Forest Library is a part of the Museum Adventure Pass program which offers discounts to suburban Chicago museums and parks. Some of the passes include 2 free passes to the Brookfield Zoo, half off parking at the Chicago Botanic Garden, and BOGO tickets to Legoland. Just come to the Library with your Lake Forest Library card and we can print you off the discount pass! For a list of museums and their deals check out the Museum Adventure Pass website.

2. Read Free RB Digital eMagazines

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Through the Library's subscription to RB Digital, you can access all kinds of popular magazines for free by downloading the magazines to your phone or tablet. Subscriptions include The Atlantic, ARTNews GQ, Chicago, Dwell, The Economist, Rolling Stone and many more. Just use our link to create an account, then download the app to your device and start downloading magazines.

3. Read and Listen to Free eBooks and eAudiobooks

​ ​Using Cloud Library, Libby (Overdrive), and Hoopla, Lake Forest patrons can check out eBooks on their devices for free! Overdrive has a wide variety of materials from kids books to romance novels, to nonfiction business books, while Cloud Library has a lot of new titles exclusively for Lake Forest patrons. Hoopla also has a great selection of graphic novels, eBooks, and eAudiobooks. The best part of using Hoopla is that you never have to wait for anything! For more information on how to use these services, visit the Getting Started section of our website!

4. Stream Movies for Free! ​ ​Use Kanopy to stream classic, foreign, Criterion Collection, and indie movies. Hoopla has a great selection of movies, TV shows, eBooks, music and more! Visit the Getting Started section of our website to learn more about how to use these services.

5. Learn a new language with Mango!

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​Mango Languages is an online language-learning resource teaching actual conversation skills for a wide variety of languages. Mango uses real-life situations and actual conversations to more effectively teach a new language. Create an account through our link, then download the app and start learning! 


6. Read our Digital Newspapers

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​Not only does the library have print subscriptions to these and many more newspapers, but cardholders also have access to both historical database access to the Chicago Tribune, The New York Times and the Lake Forest Leader. Current editions of the Chicago Tribune, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Lake Forester are also available. Check out the Newspapers & Magazines section of our website. 

7. Get free tutoring with Tutor.com

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​Connects K-12, college, and adult learners with online tutors for live, one-to-one help in math, science, English, social studies, and writing. Adults can also receive one-to-one career help, citizenship test prep, and GED prep. Tutors are available from 2:00 to 11:00 p.m., seven days a week.

8. Use our subscriptions to Morningstar and ValueLine to track your investments

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​Morningstar is a useful investment analysis tool including screeners that use your criteria to create shortlists of stocks funds, and ETF's. It also offers reports and returns and courses on 150 investment topics. ValueLine provides accurate and insightful investment research on companies, industries, markets and economies. These two services are great tools for investors of all types. Check them out, as well as Standard & Poors, Consumers Checkbook, Consumer Reports and more on the Business and Investing section of our website.

9. Rent the hottest new DVDs & Blu-Rays

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​Never rent from Redbox again! Visit us at either the Library or the DVD2Go Station at the West Lake Forest Train Station to rent the latest, greatest DVDs and Blu-Rays! Visit our catalog to see the newest movies and reserve one.

10. Discover Lifelong Learning with the Great Courses & Lynda.com

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​Lake Forest Library has over 140 Great Courses lectures. These very popular and expensive courses range in topics from Masters of Photography to an Entrepreneur's Tool Kit to the Great Minds of the Medieval World. The Great Courses are uniquely crafted for lifelong learners like you, with engaging, immersive learning experiences you can’t get in a lecture hall. These DVDs and CDs are located in the lower level of the library and many are available on Hoopla. To see all of the Great Courses, visit our catalog. 

Access online tutorials from the industry leader in technology training. Topics range from Microsoft Office to Adobe Creative Cloud. You can even learn to build a website using HTML5 and CSS in Lynda.com's built-in web developer environment. Use the Library's link to create an account, then start learning!


11. Use the Media Lab

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​Our Media offers patrons a place to edit pictures, videos, and music using entry and professional level software such as Photoshop, Illustrator, Garage Band, Logic Pro, iMovie, Final Cut Pro and more. No experience necessary. To learn more about the Media Lab and to schedule an appointment, visit our website.

12. Discover your roots with Ancestry.com

 

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Ancestry.com provides Lake Forest cardholders with access to genealogy sources primarily for the U.S. and the U.K. including the U.S. Federal Census from 1790 to 1930; the Social Security Death Index; marriage, birth, court, and military records; and historical maps and photographs. Ancestry.com can only be used at the library.

 

13. Use Your Library Card to Get Discounts at Local Businesses in February

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During the month of February, participate in "With Love from Your Library". Show your library card at select local businesses and get a discount on your purchases. There are also special programs and events at the Library throughout the month.​

14. Visit us for Drop-In Tech Help

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Visit us on Thursdays from 2:00–4:00 pm for Drop-in Tech Help. Just bring your device to the Reference Desk and we'll connect you with one of our skilled librarians or a tech-savvy Lake Forest High School student. Keep in mind, we cannot fix computer hardware problems or download software for you, but we CAN show you how to download eBooks, use your iPhone or tablet, create Google Docs, and similar techie tasks. Can't make it on Thursdays? Give us a call at 847.810.4610 or visit our website to schedule a one-on-one appointment. 

15. Check out our Most Wanted Books

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Check the bottom of your receipt next time you visit the Library to see how much money you've saved by using the Library. You might be surprised to see how much you can save renting books from the Library instead of buying them. Check out our Most Wanted section in the Rotunda to see extra copies of the newest, most popular books. These copies don't go on hold, so you're more likely to get one!