[Michlib-l] Library of Things ideas

Fri Sep 10 09:44:48 EDT 2021

Thanks for sharing, Amy.  I’m curious which budget lines libraries are using for Library of Things expenses.  Programming, materials?

Gretchen Evans

Paw Paw District Library

From: Michlib-l <michlib-l-bounces at mcls.org> On Behalf Of Amy Knepp via Michlib-l
Sent: Thursday, September 9, 2021 4:49 PM
To: bellairelibrary at torchlake.com
Cc: Michlib L <michlib-l at mcls.org>
Subject: Re: [Michlib-l] Library of Things ideas

I asked this question a while ago, and cannot remember if I posted the responses.   If I did sorry to repeat the info, if not here goes.  At the bottom of the responses is the list of items I ended up purchasing.

Hi Amy,

We're in the middle of ordering a wide range of items including a sewing machine and a metal detector.  Our first items were GAMES, PUZZLES, and some LED THERAPY LIGHTS (helpful with Seasonal Affective Disorder).  I'm not sure of the check-outs on the lamps since we had to be closed some over the winter months so people weren't in the building to discover them but the games and puzzles have been HUGELY popular and we've expanded both collections with more on order.  Our website has recently been revamped and they don't have all the items posted on it yet so I can't send a link.

Brighton District Library has had a LoT for quite a while.  In case they don't respond, here's a link to what they offer:   <http://brightonlibrary.info/library-of-things/> http://brightonlibrary.info/library-of-things/

I hope that this helps!

Hello Amy!

We started a Library of Things or (LoT) around 3 years ago. Our most popular items are the hotspots, our second most popular is our STEAM kits. We also have cake pans, Chromebooks, launchpads, and Aux cords in our LoT collection. The first items we collected were the STEAM kits, we wrote a grant for them through our local community foundation, next were the cake pan then hotspots. We purchased those just before COVID, I was so disappointed they were not ready and on the shelf by the time we had the mandatory close notice. I am currently writing another grant to get 10 additional hotspots due to their extreme popularity. If you have any questions feel free to contact me.

~Jamie

We have a large library of things which we call "Tools". We have art tools, science tools, music tools, home tools, art prints, board games, large outdoor games, and puzzles. 

According to our "Top Tools" list (which I set to Top all time), the telescopes, thermal cameras for the home, energy meters, air quality meters for the home, metal detectors, sewing machines, Wacom drawing tablet, and Giant Connect 4 have been the most popular. Our art prints are also very popular, but it's harder to see as each individual art print has its own stats instead of the group as a whole. 

I believe art prints were the first things we started with. Then energy meters from a partnership with DTE/Detroit Edison. Our major uptick in buying tools started with our telescopes, which according to our records were first cataloged in 2012, and I believe they were either a partnership with U of Michigan or a grant-funded purchase, not sure which. Our board games and puzzles are our newest editions - just this year, so those may eventually surpass the popularity of the other things.

I'm just an acquisitions/cataloging clerk, so I may not know everything about the tools collection, but those are some basics. We try to purchase things that people might want to use but not own (like the energy meters, indoor air quality meters, thermal leak detectors, etc.) as well as things that are not already rented by area businesses. We don't want to take business away from our local businesses, but rather provide other things the patron may be looking for. For example - we don't lend out clarinets or trumpets or drums as there are businesses who rent those things in our area. But instead we lend out there minis, lighting for performances, pedals for different effects with guitars and bass, pocket pianos, ukeleles, amplifiers, otomatones, etc. Fun, different music things that people may not get to experience otherwise. We have specimen kits for things like bugs and dinosaurs; models of human body parts/systems; birdcams; die cutters for crafting with. All kinds of stuff. :) :) I love our Tools collections. :) 

If you want more information, you might want to email Eli Neiburger, our Deputy Director. He knows a lot about the collection. His email is  <mailto:eli at aadl.org> eli at aadl.org.

Manchester District Library.  Our Library of Things:  ( not counting Hot Spots) these are our top checkouts

1- Intsta Pot  

2- Kill-A-Watt Electricity Usage Meter

3- GardenMaster Dehydrator - seasonal checkouts

3-Juicer

4- bluray player

We started with a waffle maker, Binoculars, little things like that.  really did not circ.  We do not circ tools.  We have seasonal as well, fishing poles, tackle boxes.   snow shoes, but they circulate slowly.  

Hi Amy,

We have had our library of things for about two years. We have auto code reader that checks out a lot. Our drone is very popular, but also very prone to damage. We have a microscope and telescope that folks love. We just put together a ghost busting kit and that has had a lot of interest.  It is a fun collection and our patrons are really using it.

Hello Amy, we are just starting. We have purchased a metal detector and it is out for the first time. We will soon add a VHS to DVD converter. I have heard that cake pans are popular. 

Hi Amy,

While we don’t have an official Library of Things, the few non-library materials that we lend out are:

·         Ukulele Kits (comes with the instrument, tuner, how-to book, cd, & dvd) NOTE: The instruments were donated by Lansing Area Ukulele Group AFTER we had them come and do a program. This kind of started us off.

·         Energy Monitor (this is particularly popular in the winter. It allows patrons to take it home and plug it in to see how much energy certain items in their home are using)

·         Star Projector (we purchased this for a program a few summers ago and decided to rent it out after we were done using it)

·         STEAM Kits (these are extremely popular, but tricky, as we have to make sure EVERYTHING is returned in the kit. This sometimes means counting ALL the tiny pieces)

·         Launch Pads (we only have 4, but they contain educational games for grades 1-5)

Hope some of these suggestions help.

 Here is the list of items I ended up purchasing:

Item

Tennsco Standard Steel Storage Cabinet, Non-Assembled, 72"H x 36" W x 18D", Putty

Janome Red Universal Sewing Machine Tote Bag, canvas

Janome 2212 Sewing Machine Includes Exclusive Bonus Bumdle

Cannon PowerShot SX420 Digital Camera

Catch Phrase

18" Turkey Roasting Pan with lid

Sorry

Sausage Stuffer Horizontal Kitchen Machine

Don't Break the Ice Game

Mouse Trap Board Game

Professional quarter sheet bakng pans set of 2

Exploding Kittens card game

Berkley Trilene Big Game

Faberware Classic 2 quart double boiler

Jenga classic game

Bushnell Engage Hunting Laser Range finder

Fishing Single Tray Tackle Box - Pink

Scrabble deluxe editioln

Fishing Single Tray Tackle Box - Lime Green

Fishing Single Tray Tackle Box - Red

Fishing Single Tray Tackle Box - blue

Fishing Terminal Tackle

Non-Stick Bakeware Sets - 11 Piece

Imperia Pasta Maker Machine

Battleship Classic Board Game

Food Mill

Ravioli Maker Cutter Stap Mold

Regal Games Classic Card Games

Hasbro Gaming Taboo Party Board Tgame

Winning Moves Games  Classic Trouble Board Game

SWOOC Games- yard games

Yard Gmaes Scstter Number Block Tossing Game

Yard Games Kubb Premium Size Outdoor Tossing Game w/ case

LeapFrog Magic Adventure Globe

GhostHunting for Dummies

Jannome Black Universal Sewing Machine Tote, Canvas

Get Life Basics world globe with stand

The Everything Ghost Hunting Book

Spirit Box Ghost Hunting Kit with Sbox, EVP, EMF and Flashlight

Thames & Kosmos Simple Machines Science Eperiment & model Building Kit

Wilton T-Rex cake pan

Ferris Wheel Building Model with metal beams and screw lights and music

Wilton Ultimate Spiderman Cake Pan

Iron Commander STEM Jeejp building Toy Kit

STEM toys kids building toys 100 piece 8-in-1 DIY learning construction

Engino ENG_STEM902 Physics laws-inertia

Dinosaur Toys for 3 4 5 6 7 year old boys

Kidwill Solar Robot Kit for kids 14-1

Thames & Kosmos Structural Engineering: Bridges & Skyscrapers

AmScope 120X-1200X 52-pcs kids beginner microscope

Luck doug 12-in-1 STEM solar robot kit

Wilton Disney Frozen Elsa Cake Pan

Wilton Disney Mickey Mouse cake pan

Engino Discovering stem: Levers, linkages & Structures building kit

48 Pack Prepared Microscope slides collection

4m Magnet exploratoin from STEAM powered kids

50 things to see with a small telescope

STEM Engineering Toys: Dump truck building set with remote control

ESSLNB Telescipes for Adults kids astonomy beginners 80 mm

Bounty Hunter TK4 Tracker IV Metal detector

Thames & Kosmos Motors & Generators Multi 

Engino Discovering STEM structures constuctions & Bridges

Engino Discovering STEM Newton's Laws intertia, momentum, kinetic

Wilton first birthday cake pan

QUICKVIEW CARRY CASE/TRNS 15IN DP BASE DV Item: 03238-2015

ARTBIN QUICK VIEW/TRNSLCNT CRRY CSE  Item: 03274-1010

QUICKVIEW CARRY CASE/TRNSLCNT 12IN  Item: 03238-1012

Zebco 33 - Rod & Reel Black

Zebco 33 - Rod & Reel Pink

Weston - V Slice Mandoline Slicer 

Weston Pess-Fruits and Tomates

Eastman Outdoors Professional Dehydrator

Star Crafts 32 Qt Stock Pot w/ steamer

Camouflage Pop up hunting Blind 58"x58"x57" H

Zoo Kids Tiger fishing pole (30 in)

Dora and Friends Fishing pole

Sagaform BBQ  gloves and press

Weston French Fry Cutter and vegetable dicer

Bobbers red and white (2 pack)

Bobbers yellow and orange (2 pack)

Sea Choice yellow and red Model 86190  Youth Life jacket  55-88 lbs

Old Town Red Adult Life Jacket Chest size 30"-56", more than 90 lbs

Sea Choice yellow and blue Model 86190  Youth Life jacket  55-88 lbs

Stohlquist Youth Large/Adult XS Red Life Jacket Chest 28-33in, 75-125Lbs

Old Town Blue Adult Life Jacket Chest size 30"-56", more than 90 lbs

Onyx Adult Xtra Large green life jacket Weight >90 lbs., 40-48 in.

On Thu, Sep 9, 2021 at 4:25 PM bellairelibrary--- via Michlib-l <michlib-l at mcls.org <mailto:michlib-l at mcls.org> > wrote:

Hi, library brain trust! We have come into some money recently and would like to spend it on creating a Library of Things. I am looking for practical ideas, not STEM, etc. as we already have a good STEM collection. I have ordered a mobile projector and a heavy-duty sewing machine but wondered what items others have in a similar collection. I am also gathering input from our patrons and staff, just looking for as many ideas as I can find! Thanks!

-- 

Cindi L. Place, MLIS
Director, Bellaire Public Library
bellairelibrary at torchlake.com <mailto:bellairelibrary at torchlake.com> 
231-533-8814

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Amy Knepp, Director

Oscoda County Library

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