Your Lexington library card unlocks free access to the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and Boston Globe from your couch. It also gets you into the Museum of Fine Arts, the New England Aquarium and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum at free or discounted rates. And it lets you borrow a ukulele, an air quality monitor or a steam cleaner for two weeks.

Those are just a few of the resources Cary Memorial Library offers beyond its shelves, according to a Lexington Observer report published Tuesday, Aug. 4, based on interviews with library staff.

"We want to get you behind the paywall as much as we possibly can," Jennifer Webb, the library's head of bibliographic services, told the Observer.

A 155-year newspaper archive

For history-minded residents, the library's standout resource may be its searchable digital archive of the Lexington Minuteman newspaper, which dates to the paper's founding in 1871. Issues through 1974 are available remotely; in-library terminals cover through 2005; and Newsbank provides text-only access from 2005 to the present for Lexington cardholders at home.

The library also holds the Edwin B. Worthen Collection, its largest special collection. Assembled by Edwin B. Worthen (1879–1956), his son Edwin B. Worthen Jr. and daughter-in-law Anita P. Worthen, the materials were donated to Cary in 1976. The collection includes roughly 500 books plus manuscripts, photographs, lantern slides, maps, scrapbooks and correspondence documenting Lexington life from the early 19th century through the mid-20th century. It traces the town's growth from 3,831 residents in 1900 to more than 31,000 by 1970.

Most items are housed in a climate-controlled room near the library's front entrance. Researchers can browse a scanned version online first, then search the collection through a dedicated tab in Cary's catalog.

Streaming, databases and the Library of Things

Beyond newspapers, a Cary card opens Kanopy, a streaming service with more than 30,000 documentaries and films. Online databases include JSTOR, Consumer Reports, Morningstar and the Oxford English Dictionary. About a year ago, the library added Examine, a nutrition and supplements database Webb said fills a gap left by social media misinformation.

The Library of Things program lets cardholders borrow non-traditional items for two weeks: air quality monitors, birding kits, ukuleles, board games and a recently added steam cleaner set. Any member of the Minuteman Library network can participate.

Museum passes can be reserved up to 60 days in advance, one per day, entirely online. Staff also offer personalized book recommendations through an online form: four to five titles for adults, hand-picked bundles of 10 books for teens every two weeks and weekly bundles for children.

Upcoming at Cary

  • Friday, Aug. 7–Saturday, Aug. 8: Minuteman Library Crawl 2026, 10 a.m.–5 p.m., all ages
  • Monday, Aug. 10: Virtual Art History: Seven Ways to See Sunflowers, 7 p.m.
  • Tuesday, Aug. 11: LEGO Block Party, 7 p.m., ages 2+
  • Wednesday, Aug. 12: Cookbook Club (Korean American by Eric Kim), 7 p.m.
  • Tuesday, Aug. 18: Meet the Author: Lexington native Michael Cloherty O'Connell discusses his U.S. history books, 7 p.m., Large Meeting Room (registration requested)

Cary Memorial Library is at 1874 Massachusetts Ave. It is free to sign up. Hours are Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Friday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.