Looking for ways to pass the time while practicing social distancing and self-isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic, but don’t want to break the bank? Check out these ways to access books, movies, video games and more for free.

Wood County Library

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The physical library may be closed, but the digital library is still open and has several great digital resources.

LinkedIn Learning (formerly Lynda) offers a collection of educational lessons on a variety of skills, such as how to use a piece of software or how to work remotely. These courses come with certificates proving your completion, which may look good to some employers.

Libby and Overdrive offer a number of e-books, especially recent books such as “Turtles all the Way Down” by John Green or Marie Kondo’s “Spark Joy.” However, only a limited number of people can view a book at the same time, so there could be some wait time.

Unlike the other digital resources offered by the Wood County Library, Hoopla serves a variety of media. Hoopla media is ad free but does have limits for how long you can check out a title and limits you to 15 items a month.

Hoopla’s notable television shows mostly focus on cartoons, but include much of the Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network libraries.

Don’t have a library card? No problem. The Wood County Public Library is temporarily offering digital only cards for Ohio Digital Library access during this emergency period.

BGSU library electronic resources

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BGSU Libraries has a lot of nonfiction e-books, as well as ezProxy to allow viewing them from off campus. They also have streaming music from a variety of databases, including Naxos Music Library, DRAM, Music Online: American Music and even Met Opera on Demand. OnTheBoards is a streaming service offered through the library that focuses on theater, dance and other performing arts recordings.

WBGU-TV and WBGU-FM

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WBGU-TV, BGSU’s PBS affiliate station, still broadcasts over the air for free to any televisions within range on channel 27. Enjoy local programs such as Live at Howard’s, a dive into Howard’s Club H from your own home. Some content is available online without the purchase of PBS Passport.

As always WBGU-FM, streams online at BG Falcon Media, on air at 88.1 FM and has playlists on Spotify.

Podcasts

Podcasts are perfect for listening to while cleaning up your room or commuting to the grocery store.

Open-source games

Open-source games are free games developed by hobbyists. They lack microtransactions, ads, always-online requirements and other disruptions that plague most free games.