Using Your Public Library
Like Duolingo, but for Using Your Public Library. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.
For the part of you with thirty open tabs that never became anything.
21 levels across 4 sections, about 42 minutes end to end, roughly 8 days at five minutes a day. It moves through Your First Visit, Finding What You Need, Expanding Your Horizons, and The Library's Role. It starts from scratch.
Free forever · No credit card · iPhone & Android
Key ideas in Using Your Public Library
- Library cards provide digital access to media like movies and e-books
- Librarians are trained to navigate complex databases and archives
- Many libraries offer 'libraries of things' including tools or passes
- Librarians can help verify the reliability of information sources
- The card is for borrowing and temporary access, not permanent ownership
- A librarian's job includes teaching you how to find information yourself
- The variety of resources accessible with a library card beyond physical books
- The role of a librarian as a research and information expert
- Libraries designate specific areas for noise-sensitive work
- Specialized equipment is often grouped in creative 'maker' zones
- Social and play areas are separated to prevent disturbing other patrons
- Due dates ensure that the community has fair access to limited copies
- Returning items on time allows the library to fulfill requests for others
- A 'hold' puts you in a digital queue for popular items
- Identifying the appropriate library zone for specific activities
- Libraries can transport books between different branches for you
You've tried the other tabs
Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.
You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.
One answer, then back to scrolling.
Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.
Tomo gives Using Your Public Library the Duolingo treatment: levels, streaks, and quick quizzes that test what you just learned. That game loop is what the tabs above never had, so it's the one you actually finish.
Here's what playing it feels like
A real question from this course. Take your best guess.
If you need to find a very old record in a complex database, who is the best person to ask for help?
Get it right to open this lesson and 20 more in the app.
Where Using Your Public Library takes you
Unlock a world of free books, digital media, and community resources. Learn how to navigate the stacks, master the catalog, and access everything your local library has to offer.
- 1
Your First Visit
- Getting Started at the Library
- 2
Finding What You Need
- Mastering the Catalog
- Cracking the Shelf Code
- The Digital Library
- 3
Expanding Your Horizons
- Beyond the Bookshelf
- Research and Truth-Finding
- 4
The Library's Role
- The Heart of the Community
4 sections · 7 units · 21 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.
You pick the voice
Using Your Public Library is taught in the Explain Like I'm 5 style: no big words. promise.. Want a different feel? In the app you can spin up the same topic in any of Tomo's teaching styles. Same facts, totally different vibe.
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Start Using Your Public Library today.
Download Tomo, search Using Your Public Library, and play your first lesson in under a minute.