I’m Gloria Wahl. I have evidence to share with you today supporting my statement at the end of my last presentation, stating my belief that libraries are “one of the most basic features of our collective humanity.”
“Do you know you can check out a sewing machine from the library? How about a metal detector? Homer Public Library is more than books! Explore what kinds of specialty items and equipment are available from the Library of Things.” Those are the words on the cover of the notebook listing the items available in the collection.
Earlier this month, the Homer Public Library had an Open House, celebrating 20 years in their current location, when they introduced us to the Library of Things. Where exactly is this Library of Things? Past the computers and across from the reading bar there’s a shelving unit that has CD cases that represent the items that are available for circulation.
The notebook I mentioned earlier is also there. Again, the notebook is a comprehensive list of all items in the collection. As with all library items, holds may be placed for items not currently available. Circulation times are variable. As I looked through the notebook to see what’s offered, the items seemed to fall into four broad groups: Outdoor Fun, Indoor Fun, Meeting Essentials and, of course, Other — items I couldn’t easily categorize.
This being Homer, Alaska, there are several options in Outdoor Fun — tennis rackets, a bocce set, croquet set, disc golf set, badminton set, trekking poles, horseshoes, a kite, a birding backpack, and an Aerobie Sprint Flying Ring (which reportedly flies twice as fast as a frisbee). Not surprisingly, there are balls of various types — playground, foot, basket, soccer and kick. Winter will be here before we know it — the Library of Things also has several plastic winter sleds.
For Indoor Fun there’s a giant Jenga game that makes it possible to build a structure three feet tall, a karaoke machine, and a domino set with instructions for 16 different games. In addition to several Chromebooks, a Victrola record and cassette player, a streaming Blu-ray disc/DVD disc player, a portable CD player with built-in speakers, a Nintendo NES Classic Mini, a PlayStation Classic, a SEGA Genesis Mini and a portable CD player are part of the collection.
These next items I call Meeting Essentials. In addition to a 50” x 50” projector screen, there are various types of projectors — film, overhead, digital and slide. Feeling fancy? There’s a punch bowl set with 12 cups and a ladle.
In the Other category, you’ll find an LED light therapy lamp, a radon detector and a Kill A Watt electricity usage monitor to name a few items.
Those were just a few offerings from each of my loosely defined groups.
As a bonus, and further supporting my belief that libraries are “one of the most basic features of our collective humanity,” to the right of the Library of Things you’ll find puzzles that circulate on the “honor system.”
Reading Between the Lines is a co-production of KBBI AM 890 and volunteers from the Friends of the Homer Library. It airs on KBBI every Sunday at 9:35 a.m. These reviews are reprinted with permission from KBBI and the Friends of the Homer Public Library. Program recordings can be found on the Friends website.
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