Time for another edition of Unlocking Library Coolness, where I share neat-tastic things I’ve discovered about local libraries, beyond the inestimable excellence of All The Reading Materials. The look on my kids’ faces when I told them their library card allowed them to check out up to 50 books is still one of my favorite memories.
In previous editions, we’ve covered Libby, language learning options, and then magazine options for digital browsing. Last month, I talked about my terribly satisfying habit of checking out cookbooks I want to try before I buy.
This month, we’re talking about the Library of Things. I’m not sure if that’s the official title, but it has its own Wikipedia entry, so I’m thinking that’s it. A Library of Things is:
non-traditional collections that are being loaned by libraries, and can include kitchen appliances, tools, gardening equipment and seeds, electronics, toys and games, art, science kits, craft supplies, musical instruments, recreational equipment, and more.
These new types of collections vary widely, but go far beyond the books, journals, and media that have been the primary focus of library collections in the past.
So, TL;DR – you may be able to borrow Useful Things in addition to Books and Media from your local library.
I first learned about this during a podcast interview with Jennifer Lohmann from NoveList (Ep. 242. Jennifer Lohmann: NoveList and Hosting a Romance Book Club). She’d noticed in the course of her work that some libraries offered really nifty things. From the transcript:
Jennifer: I get to see what all the cool, like, cool things libraries are doing. I just talked to a library that was having a, a candy mold collection that you could check out.
Sarah: Okay, that’s cool.
Jennifer: Yeah! I was just then like, yeah, wow! Okay!
Sarah: That’s brilliant.
Jennifer: And they also, they, they lent fishing rods, too.
Sarah: Also cool.
Jennifer: That’s one of the best parts of my job is poking around library websites and going, oh, my gosh! This is awesome! That’s so cool that they’re doing that!
I was reminded recently of this nifty feature of the library when I saw the Twinbrook branch of the MCPL (that’s Montgomery County, Maryland) had a new collection of musical instruments to check out. HOW COOL IS THAT.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bn4XHsFACbA/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=12iel4cz3tlyt
Their collection includes, “…a variety of guitars, ukeleles, and hand-drums (djembe, doumbek, bohdran, kalimba, and more) to start our musical collection. There were 29 instruments and six amplifiers total: six ukeleles, six acoustic guitars, two electric guitars, two electric basses, 11 drums, two kalimbas (thumb pianos); and two bass and two guitar amplifiers, and two headphone amplifiers.” As a person with a few musical instruments in her home and two dudes who love to experiment with different ones, the option to borrow from the library to try one out is a brilliant idea.
If you are looking to get dressed up for a job interview, wedding, audition, graduation, prom, or other formal event, the Riverside Library can help.
With our NYPL Grow Up work accessories collection, you can now borrow neckties and bowties, briefcases, and handbags.
Graceful curtsey to Philip Bump of The Washington Post, whose tweet alerted me to this excellent collection.
The NYPL is not alone in lending ties and other items for job interviews and events. The Paschalville branch of the Philadelphia Free Library has a “tie-brary,” and libraries in Cincinnati and other locations also offer similar options, too. (If you’re thinking, hold up, I could donate to a program like that, contact your local* and see if they offer a lending program like these!)
*I absolutely love, btw, the silliness of calling my local library “my local” like it’s a pub, partly because I don’t have a local pub and because I’m way more likely to go to a library than a pub (though I do love pub food and cider, aka Apple Juice for Grown Ups).
Anyway, what other Library of Things collections are there out there? SO MANY. Among the different choices I’ve spotted:
- Puppets – Eugene, Oregon, public library (source)
- Seed exchanges – grow a plant, harvest the seeds, bring those back for the next person. My local often has heirloom tomato seed exchanges, which is SO cool (and delicious). Nashville Public Library has a vibrant one, too. (source) (More info: Atlas Obscura)
- Toys – many libraries have lendable toys, including Oakland Public Library in California, which has a catalog of their toys. And the Arlington, Virginia, public library is one of several who has American Girl dolls available to lend! (Cheers to Jennifer, the children’s and maker librarian at the APL.)
- Tools – so many different libraries, including Oakland, CA, offer tools for home improvement and repair, which is brilliant (source for this and above item)
- note: there are also independent tool lending libraries in the US and in Canada (hey, Toronto!). Check for a local option at LocalTools.org. And try not to make as many, “Heh, heh, you said tool” jokes in your head as I just did.
- Cooking tools and appliances – there are so many, my gosh.
- Chilton Library offers pressure cookers, both stovetop and electric.
- Beaverton, OR, has a pasta maker.
- And a stunning number of libraries offer baking pans – which I’m kicking myself about. I recently bought a small cake pan to make flan and probably could have borrowed one from the library and saved myself the trouble. This collection at the Fletcher Free Library in Vermont is terrific!
- Camping equipment – many offer camping stoves, hiking kits, and other equipment. Johnson County, Indiana, offers birding equipment, too!
- Electronics – GoPro cameras, digital cameras, yep yep yep. And check this out: Cary Illinois Public Library has a Podcasting Kit to borrow for a week, complete with mic, tripod, headphones, and Podcasting for Dummies.
- Sewing – Sewing machines are a no-brainer for a Library of Things collection, and you can borrow one from libraries in Denver, CO, and Northlake, IL.
How do you find out if your local library system offers a Library of Things?
Well, many will have a webpage, such as the Northlake, IL, Library of Things collection. Googling would be the first step – which is true for many things, EXCEPT when your loved one has a fever because Dr. Google has atrocious bedside manner!
You can also call your library to ask if they lend the things you’re looking for, or if they have a Library of Things collection. Many, many thanks to the clever librarians who have developed these collections for patrons. It’s another way that our public libraries are utterly priceless.
What about you? Does your local (hee!) have a Library of Things? What items have you borrowed or seen?
THis looks F*ng awesome!
Over here in Britain libraries are closing down due to budget cuts, or being run entirely by volunteers, so we consider ourselves very lucky just to have a Library of Books.
One of the most popular items from my local are puzzles…especially the 1,000 piece ones.
I’m at an academic library but this year we’re rolling out a makerspace that will highlight Appalachian craft (because we’re located in the Appalachian mountains). Students and faculty will be able to use drop spindles, weaving looms, sewing machines, sergers, and more. They’ll also have access to a studio for podcasting and vlogging and a seed library on top of the traditional makerspace equipment (3D printer, robotics, etc).
It’s pretty exciting!
This is one of my absolute favorite features you’ve started – Libby became my new bestie after you featured her. A quick search reveals our local also has musical instruments as well as STEAM kits for kids!
Our county library has a well-stocked craft room that may be “borrowed” by groups and is used for workshops scheduled by the library. I’ve been to an altered books/book art workshop and some garden crafts classes. The library friends group had twice yearly book sales until the group turned a spare office into a year-round book sale. With the nearest book store an hour away, and drugstores and discount stores offering fewer books these days, the community has been keeping the book store in our local in business with purchases and donations.
My local library has a nook of exercise equipment to borrow. (Because that relatively inexpensive item you buy, carry home, and never use? You’re more likely to use it if it has a time limit and you have to return it.)
the library I work at has a makerspace (4 3d printers, a wire-bending machine, a wood CNC machine, and a laser cutter/engraver) as well as STEM kits and what we call maker-kits (things like littlebits sets and arduino control kits and raspberryPI computers to learn to code on, learn robotics sets, a wacom tablet and a gopro, a 3D scanner) and they’re some of our most popular stuff. We’d love to branch into more arts-based stuff, but we’re also in the process of building a new location, so we don’t have the money for it, unfortunately.
My library where I am the adult programming associate loans out bikes, wifi hotspots (where the data is unlimited and we pay all costs), launchpads (no Internet access tablets with educational and fun apps for kids to play), and starting in November we will be loaning out board games.
Was coming to comment about the American Girl Doll lending program and then I saw you had it already! My 8 year old self is so envious. APL also has a great games collection. And both they and my other public library, Fairfax County (hey, gotta have one near your work and one where you live, right?) lend thermal cameras to improve home energy efficiency.
The Library of Things is very awesome! And a nice complement to the books we lend. The library I work at has Instant Pots, spiralizers, dehydrators, air fryers, cake pans, telescopes (very popular!), fitness kits (including DVDs), and various things for the younger set, including launchpads and early literacy kits.
I have a whole blog dedicated to the toys and maker kits I circulate in my library! The Maker Kits are especially popular – I lend out things like sewing kits, music, birdwatching, candy-making, and they have consumables (flavors, fabric, etc.). A lot of families use them. http://readnplaylibrary.blogspot.com/
My local library has some interesting things available – besides books, digital books, museum passes and such. Their collection consists mainly of electronic devices – Roku, a hotspot, etc. (nothing I’ve borrowed). The library in the next town over (which is part of the same system and hence is accessible to me) has a wide range of things, including an Instant Pot. I recently had a recipe I wanted to try and I was able to borrow it just to try that one thing, and then perhaps decide if I wanted to buy one. It was perfect!
I work at a university library, and we have a huge collection of non-book things that you can check out, especially when it comes to electronics. You can check out pretty much anything from a Go-Pro to a telescope. It’s really neat.
This is amazing and something I never knew! Of course, that’s not to say our local would have such a thing or that they would make it easy to borrow (you can’t just walk in and browse or research – you have to know exactly what you’re looking for, preorder it online and have it sent to your local because it could be ANYWHERE IN THE STINKIN COUNTY). But this would be perfect for the son who is practicing voice acting and wants to learn the guitar, or the one learning Japanese.
What a fun post, Sarah; thank you! My library used to lend out art prints but no longer does. I know it offers free guest passes to the local raptor center. I should find out if they lend out non-book items.
My county library recently started loaning out specialty cake pans. I love the idea of exercise equipment.
I love all of this.
Our library lets one borrow toys, bundles of dvds, fishing rods, bikes, mobile hot spot devices, board games, etc…
https://hcplonline.org/specialcollections.php
we can also borrow books from any public library in Maryland participating in Marina.
Off the top of my head, my local lends out laptops, games, and museum passes.
My library lends instruments (my husband currently has a djembe out!) and art.
Fairfax county also checks out nature backpacks for kids to explore the outdoors with magnifying glasses, etc. They offer a memory depot where you can transfer vhs tape and slides to digital formats for free.
@2, Jane Lovering, here’s a song about that very thing, by Piers Cawley:
My library has:
Puppets
Cake pans & candy molds
A wireless hotspot
A radon detector
A fetal heartbeat monitor
Dowsing rods (yes, really)
Photo scanner
Globes (Earth, Mars, & moon)
Tickets to: The local science center, zoo, and history museum.
And so much more!
My local library has hosted events where you can ‘borrow’ a person! http://humanlibrary.org/