Library Like… A Metalhead

Hey, you! Yes, you! We heard you think libraries aren’t metal! We're here to tell you you’re wrong!

Imagine a repository of ancient, exciting and sometimes even forbidden knowledge. This is something that’s inspired many metal album covers and, in some cases, even entire concept albums. It's also a perfect metaphor for the library. In fact, there’s a multitude of truly metal resources available at CPL. 

Channel Universal Energy

Don’t believe us? Iron Maiden has songs inspired by Frank Herbert’s Dune, Robert Heinlein’s Stranger in a Strange Land and Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s Rime of the Ancient Mariner. Anthrax has several songs based on Stephen King books. And one of the best songs from Metallica is inspired by Ernest Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls. Amon Amarth’s name comes from The Lord of the Rings, and the band has a number of songs based on Norse mythology. 

So, metal musicians read (that's a fact!), and if you check the links above or search our catalog you can find more of the source material that inspired your favorite shredding numbers.

Find Something Heavy

Libraries are also treasure troves of metal records. You can find everything from foundational albums of bands like Black Sabbath, Mötorhead and Iron Maiden to modern-day favorites like Ghost and everything in-between.

If you prefer to bang your head to physical media we’ve got some CDs, but if you’re cool with streaming, hoopla has a whole host of heavy sounds that you can stream directly to your computer or download to your device.

It's a Lifestyle

Metal is more than just music. It’s an aesthetic that you can find in all sorts of awesome stuff—like horror and fantasy genres. Both genres are well represented in the library’s physical collections via a multitude of mediums that include novels, comics, audiobooks, video games, television shows and feature films. You can also find digital fantasy and horror tales in many mediums on hoopla, and there are plenty of fantasy and horror films streaming on Kanopy.

You've Got Another Thing Comin'

The sheer amount of truly metal materials available at the library means you might want to maximize your time to rock out and immerse yourself in all the heavy media that’s available to you.

You don’t even have to come inside to pick up your materials! Once you’ve obtained a Canton Public Library card and registered it online, you can start placing your items on hold. When they’re ready to pick up, head down to the library and try our curbside pickup. We’ll bring your items out to you. We don’t mind, and if we catch you rocking out, we won’t judge! Some of us might even throw up metal horns in response.