by Sara Edmiston
It’s one of the library system’s best-kept secrets that should be known by all in the county. With your library card, you have access to millions of songs (the entire Sony Music catalog) that you can stream for 3-hours daily. You can also download five songs weekly – and never have to return them. How, you ask? With the library’s streaming and downloadable music service, Freegal.
Freegal is our second most used electronic resource. In 2022, over 31,000 songs were streamed and over 9,000 songs were downloaded by the citizens of Adams County, yet there are plenty of people who are unaware of this service. How do you access Freegal? Visit the library’s website at www.adamslibrary.org. Under ELibrary, you’ll see an option for Streaming Music. All the details of how to access Freegal will be found on that page. Would you rather use Freegal on your mobile device? Apps are available for download in your device’s app store.
Now, however, we are happy to announce that in the next few weeks, the Freegal music service will become Feegal Music+, completely updated and improved to make your listening experience as easy and enjoyable as possible.
What can you expect in the new update?
- A new interface that is user-friendly, modern, and intuitive
- A complete redesign of desktop and mobile apps
- An updated search engine that will help you discover new songs and artists
- More sub-genres are visible for easier discovery of new types of music
- A new ability to add Playlists, Songs, and Albums to Favorites
- A brand-new, redesigned “My Music” page for all of your favorite music in one place
In order to make the homepage more user-friendly, the redesign includes new areas to make your exploration more fun.
Freegal Music+ will also include a new “What’s Hot” area that will feature new “hot” songs each week. The Grammy Awards are soon coming, so a playlist of nominated songs and artists could be featured in that area.
There’s also a new Spotlight area on the homepage that will feature new and classic artists. It will feature the newest music from that artist but will also have links to older albums as well as links to music similar to that artist. With the new movie about Whitney Houston in theaters, her music could be found in that area.
There are new discovery links like Explore Playlists, Discover Artists, Discover Albums, New Arrivals, and Now Trending. When you’re logged into the new site with your library card, you will also find a “More of what you’d like” and “Recently Played Songs” area. Your journey through Freegal Music+ will be tailored to you, making it easier for you to find the music you like and discover new artists.
For everyone who currently uses Freegal, you will not lose any of the music that you have downloaded throughout the years. This update should simply enhance the experience you already have with the service.
Sara Edmiston is Public Services Director at Adams County Library System.