Kathrina Maribao on using the Houston Public Library card to its fullest potential.

Streaming isn’t fun anymore. At some point between HBO adding ads and Netflix killing casting, I found myself with a new Sony Blu-ray player in hand and a tiny spark of rebellion. Collective frustration with streaming platforms coupled with added subscription fatigue is turning many consumers towards two alternatives: piracy or physical media. Where physical media wins, though, is the return of the nostalgic ritual of browsing aisles of films for the perfect movie night.

Enter: the library.

Libraries have much to offer beyond borrowing books. In fact, the Houston Public Library offers a large, up-to-date catalogue of films new and old. Recent theater titles like Wicked: For Good, Zootopia 2, One Battle After Another are films they try to acquire as soon as available. Criterion Collection titles, the full Disney catalogue (classic Mickey shorts, Disney Channel throwbacks, the latest Pixar), anime shows, PBS documentaries, Studio Ghibli, HBO dramas, and Disney+ exclusive shows like Andor and The Mandalorian, and more are all available to borrow for free.

And if they don’t have what you’re looking for, it’s easy to make a purchase request for them to add a piece of media to their catalogue. (I’m waiting to hear back if they can access Bluey with Spanish audio.)

For the last decade, libraries have become one of the biggest and most consistent DVD and Blu-ray purchasers in the physical media market, often purchasing multiple physical copies at a time to meet the demand in the communities they serve. Houston Library patrons can borrow up to 15 movies at a time for 3 weeks with renewals up to a maximum loan period of 12 weeks total. With two or more library cards in a household, borrowing capacity goes up.

Maybe the library is indeed better than Blockbuster. 

The library also offers movies and shows to stream for free on Hoopla and Kanopy if you still prefer digital. Hoopla offers a broader selection with more mainstream titles. Kanopy has a more curated, arthouse feel with indie films, classics, Criterion Collection picks, and a variety of documentaries and foreign films. (Between the two platforms I recently watched La Chimera, Perfect Days, Birdcage, Mr. Rogers: It’s You I Like and Parasite.) While you’re limited in how many titles you can watch in a month through a ticket system, true library card maxxers can add multiple library cards from different systems to spread out watches–just like placing digital book holds on Libby. Just note that the library pays per each title you stream.  

Libraries don’t stop with just books and movies, of course. Vinyls and CDs are available for music albums, and audiobooks too.

Language learning tools like Pimsleur (a $20 monthly app subscription) is available on Libby. Some libraries like in Philadelphia even offer video games and e-sports. Houston Public Library offers “The Library of Things” which includes board games and puzzles, tools and equipment, musical instruments, seeds for gardening, and more. This summer I’m being a bit more adventurous. I’ve “checked out” basil, tomatoes, and black-eyed susan seeds from the library. And since I’m used to the piano, giving my hands a new challenge sounded fun: I put holds on a banjo and a steel drum. No garden or genre is safe in my home.

In the era of Big Streaming, libraries are a quiet remedy to accessing entertainment free from ads, algorithms, and monthly subscriptions. Libraries help me tolerate our society’s ongoing enshittification because they remind me that something in the culture can exist without wanting to extract something out of me or my data. Instead, I sense the opposite: the library feels like a big, community living room and one of the last public spaces where we can exist without any expectation to spend money.

The best way to support your local library? Use it. Streaming isn’t cool anymore, but having a library card always is.

Skip the subscriptions and discover everything your library card can do. Join Houston Public Library's Summer Reading Program and Unearth a Story through books, challenges, and exciting programs for all ages. Every story is a new adventure waiting to be uncovered.

Every registration supports your library. Sign up today and start exploring!

Want to collab on a future issue and treat readers to an experience on you? Hit reply.

LATELY IN HOUSTON

Alright, alright, alright. McConaughey's coming to Jones Hall. The Austin actor will narrate Aaron Copland's Lincoln Portrait at the Houston Symphony's Sept. 19 season opener, Celebrating America at 250, alongside opera singer Isabel Leonard belting Great American Songbook classics. Tickets hit donors June 24, general public June 29. Houston Chronicle

40+ years deep and still getting away with it. Houstonia spotlights Murder by the Book, the Bissonnet crime-and-thriller institution where owner McKenna Jordan and her nine-bookseller crew host 200+ events a year and pull in giants like Michael Connelly, Lee Child, and Robert Crais. The Cheers of crime fiction? Justice guaranteed by the final chapter. Houstonia Magazine

The Teachers’ Lounge. Reading with a Rapper just gave Houston educators a Soho House of their own. The Teachers' Lounge soft-launched at Studio Eight08 with a fireside chat between RWAR CEO Jarren Small and NBA Foundation exec Lauren Sills. Part community, part career development, part bourbon-in-candlelight, the Teachers’ Lounge is building “a community that sees their full range.” Forward Times

WEEKEND EVENTS

All weekend:

• waiting / REX by ISHIDA Dance Company

• Clue at The Hobby Center

• Giselle at Houston Ballet

• Enso HTX Soft Opening

• Anime Market Houston II

Thursday, 6/11

5pm-7:30pm, Community | Pride Happy Hour with Ben Chavez feat DJ Rosez at Moody Center for the Arts.

6pm-10pm, Nightlife | Global Sounds DJ Series: El Turko Sonidero & Santo Sounds with Ice House Radio at Hotel Saint Augustine.

7pm, Dancing | Line Dance Night at POST. Free.

9:30pm, Film | Watch Scott Pilgrim vs. The World at Rooftop Cinema Club. $20 and up.

9:30pm, Nightlife | Lady Gaga Night at Barbarella.

10pm, Concert | Diplo at Pitch Live. $192 and up.

Friday, 6/12

5pm-7pm, Art | The Big Show at Lawndale Art Center. $125.

7pm, Community | Mixers & Elixers: 80’s Night at HMNS. $35 and up.

11:45pm, Live Music | The Round Midnight Sessions with Shawn Allen at Doc’s Jazz Club. $20.

Saturday, 6/13

11am-12:30pm, Culture | America at 250: Founding Frenemies and the Rivalries that Shaped the Nation at Julia Ideson Building.

4pm, Art | Summer Floral Workshop with Taiba’s Floral at Eden Plant Co. $75.

5pm-8pm, Community | Summer Saturdays: Drop Everything and Read at Houston Botanic Garden. $12.

6pm-10pm, Art | Art On The Block at Sabine Street Studios. “FREE community celebration of art, culture, music, and soccer as we gear up for the excitement of the World Cup coming to Houston.”

6:30pm, Art | Art Crowd: Picasso–Klee–Matisse: Masterpieces from the Museum Berggruen at MFAH.  “Tickets include one free drink (two free drinks for Art Crowd members), light bites, communal art-making, and art talks from curatorial staff.” $35, free for Art Crowd members.

7:30pm, Live Music | Unplugged: An Acoustic Night by Sofar Sounds. “An intimate unplugged acoustic night in a brand new listening space. Three artists, stripped-down sets, and raw storytelling in its purest form.” $25.

Sunday, 6/14

11am-3pm, Market | Root & Bloom Market: Sunday Bloom Club. “A wellness inspired Sunday filled with curated shopping, community, matcha, açaí bowls, and a little surprise activity to get us moving 👀✨” Rocio Art Shop will be doing Live Mini Portraits!

1pm-5pm, Culture | A Juneteenth Celebration at Bayou Bend. Free.

2pm-6pm, Thrifting | Record Swap by Good Junk Vintage at Axelrad.

ON THE HOU(S)E Concierge

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