By Helen Harlan

It’s just after 11 a.m. on blustery Thursday in Midtown Sacramento. Around a dozen students look content as they leave the community space on the second floor of the McClatchy Public Library. But instead of exiting with books under their arms, these pupils are carrying yoga mats. They’ve just finished “Yoga for Beginners,” taught by One Flow Yoga instructor Audrey Clark and hosted for free by the Friends of the Sacramento Public Library.

“Libraries are just a very serene yogic space,” Clark mused. “It’s a place of seeking knowledge, which is what yoga is at its base, right?”

Libraries are also portals to the wider world. If you feel like staying home during the storm months, a Sacramento library card can save you hundreds of dollars a year on streaming subscriptions and Amazon and iTunes rental fees. The card gives one access to film hub Kanopy, a service of public and university libraries, and its over 30,000 movies and documentaries. You can also sync Hoopla to your devices and enjoy music, both audio and e-books, as well as BingePasses to Hallmark+ and The Great Courses. Sacramento libraries also offer dozens of free online magazine and newspaper subscriptions, including The New York Times.

Even better? Say you’re a foodie in the 916, and you see a creamy Meyer lemon pasta recipe on @nytcooking via Instagram: You can log onto NYT Cooking with your Sacramento library card and avoid the $5.00/month paywall. Suddenly, you’re struck by the desire to make your pasta. What do you do next? You could order a modestly priced pasta maker on Amazon or you could save your dough (for ingredients to make actual dough) and rent a similar machine from the Library of Things at the Valley Hi-North Laguna Library in South Sacramento.

The Valley Hi-North Laguna branch hosts one of Sacramento’s three such Library of Things, where you can check out a guitar, a bird-watching kit or a belt sander, among other offerings. 

Additionally, Sacramento libraries offer educational services in English Learning, as well as GED or HiSET assistance.  In November, the librry started launching Opioid Overdose Prevention workshops in partnership with the Sacramento County Opioid Coalition. It was just one more project the staff put into the works beyond the comprehensive literacy services for adults, seniors, families and children they provide.  

“The goals could be anything,” said Lisa Martinez, Sacramento Public Library’s Communications Manager. “It could be helping them read their mail, get prepared to take driving tests or prepare for a high school education. Whatever that next milestone is for them. It’s flexible. We meet them where they need to be.”

Paul Cruz, 33, is one such individual. Known as an “adult learner,” Cruz furthered his education with the Sacramento Public Library’s Adult Literacy Program in 2015 and then again in 2020.

“It’s free,” notes Cruz, now a nursing student. “But it’s a time commitment. That’s the exchange.” 

And Cruz thinks it was worth it. 

“The pandemic made me realize that I wasn’t happy with what I was doing,” he recalls. “And to move on to what I needed, I needed to make a change. That change was to advance my education.”

Cruz said he googled Sacramento literacy services and chose the Sacramento Public Library, where he began to work with Miranda Newman, a literacy tutor volunteer.

“Miranda was great – I’m still in contact with her,” Cruz extolls. “Every time I have a chance to show her my progress, like my report cards, I try my best to keep her updated. There were times when I felt like I was giving up on myself, but then she just never gave up on me.”