A library of things is any collection of objects loaned, and any organization that practices such loaning. Objects often include kitchen appliances, tools, gardening equipment and seeds, [1] electronics, [2] toys and games, art, [3] science kits, craft supplies, musical instruments, and recreational equipment such as sports and outdoors gear. [4] Especially appropriate are objects that are useful occasionally but cumbersome to store, such as specialized cookware or niche technology items. [5] Collections vary widely, but go far beyond the books, journals, and media that have been the primary focus of traditional libraries. [6]
The library of things movement is a growing trend in public, academic and special libraries in many countries. [7] [8] There are also free-standing organizations separate from libraries, such as tool libraries, toy libraries, community sharing centers, [9] independent non-profits, and individual initiatives. The term 'Library of Things' was popularized by a grassroots experiment started in London in 2014, themselves inspired by Toronto Tool Library.
The Share Shed (Totnes, UK) is developing the first mobile library of things. Collections are often supported by educational programming and public events. [10] These borrowing centers and library collections are part of the sharing economy. [11]
In Wales, Benthyg Cymru have developed a network to support each other sharing knowledge not just things.
Art rentals are being made available for library patrons for borrowing prints, posters, paintings, and other visual art. [12] Additionally, many libraries of things are adding arts and crafts equipment and supplies for use in the library or for check out. Crafting tools may include sewing machines, knitting kits, die-cutters, papercraft tools, jewelry repair and embroidery kits, scrapbooking supplies, and button makers. [13]
Libraries have been lending electronics like e-readers, tablets, and laptops for quite some time already, but are now expanding the range of electronics that they lend through the library of things. Electronics offerings have expanded to include mobile hot spots, projectors, scanners, GoPros, graphics tablets, digital and film cameras, video games, converters (vinyl, cassette, and VHS to digital files), green screens, and video cameras. [14]
Instrument collections have been brought in to libraries, often accompanied by sheet music, tuners, amps, and educational resources. [15] The Free Library of Philadelphia launched its Musical Instrument Collection (MIC) in 2016, and lending includes an electric guitar, mandolin, electric bass, ukulele, acoustic-electric guitar, and a banjo. [16] Lopez Island Library in Lopez Island, Washington introduced a musical instrument "petting zoo", which includes instruments like acoustic and electric guitars, banjo, cello, clarinet, flugelhorn, French horn, electric keyboard, recorder, ukulele, viola and violin. [17] In Oregon, The Jackson County Library Services Library of Things music collection includes a table top electric drum set and a kalimba thumb piano. [18] Music Broth in Scotland has as of 2024 around 3000 instruments. Beginning in Glasgow in 2017, it's library includes everything from guitars to ouds, домра/domra, violins, dulcimers, and electronic music equipment, all the way up to events equipment. [19]
Specialized kitchen equipment including food dehydrators, popcorn machines, ice cream makers, air fryers, instant pots, and Kitchen Aid blenders are available to borrow for home use. [20] [18] Cake pans and novelty bakeware have been particularly popular additions to libraries, with many stand-alone collections being created. [21]
Seed libraries have cropped up as a part of public library collections. [22] Many have a policy for users who "check out" seeds for a growing season; they agree to plant the checked-out seeds and then save seeds from the yield to return to the collection for the following year. [23] Some seed libraries have become a point of contention with state governments' agriculture departments. [24] Agricultural equipment, landscaping tools, and gardening supplies are also included in 'things' collections, and may include rakes, hedge trimmers, pruners, hand tools, leaf blowers, and lawn mowers. [25] Some libraries are also creating community gardens [26] where library users can check out a garden plot for a growing season. [27]
Home monitoring tools such as thermal cameras, leak detectors, air quality meters, infrared thermometers, energy meters, and other devices are available in some collections for borrowing. [28]
Some libraries are bringing in equipment to help users enjoy outdoor recreation, sometimes in partnership with local Parks and Recreation departments. Among a wide range of recreation equipment offerings are fishing rods, [29] frisbees and whiffle balls, bird watching kits and croquet, [30] badminton, bocce or pickleball sets. [31]
Similarly, libraries are checking out party supplies for social recreation, including items like bubble, cotton candy, and karaoke machines, chocolate fountains, or boomboxes. [32]
The Maker movement [33] has had an influence on the collections available at Libraries of Things, and as a result there are littleBits, Arduino, Makey Makey, Raspberry Pi, robotics kits, coding toys, 3D printers and vinyl and laser cutters may be available for check out at many libraries. [4] [34] Similarly, science tools like digital microscopes, telescopes, light meters and themed science kits are being made available to borrow. [35]
Tool libraries have gained popularity as free-standing borrowing centers in many cities, and libraries [36] are also bringing in tool collections for borrowing. Hand and power tools for home improvement, construction and fine woodworking are popular additions to libraries, and often are accompanied by programming and educational opportunities. [37]
Toy lending centers have a longer history, stretching back to the Great Depression. [38] Recently,[ when? ] though, libraries have come to embrace the concept of toy libraries, and have introduced lending collections of puppets, board games, American Girl dolls, [39] puzzles, blocks and a wide variety of other toys into their collections. [38] [40]
The library of things movement is expanding to include an ever-widening array of items. Objects include tiebraries, [41] taxidermied animals, [42] museum passes, [43] or Santa Claus suits. [44] Palm Harbor Public Library in Florida has a collection for role playing games such as Dungeons and Dragons (the Mark Mazurek Role Playing Game Collections). [45]
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Interlibrary loan is a service that enables patrons of one library to borrow materials that are held by another library.
The Internet Archive is an American nonprofit digital library founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle. It provides free access to collections of digitized materials including websites, software applications, music, audiovisual, and print materials. The Archive also advocates for a free and open Internet. As of February 4, 2024, the Internet Archive held more than 44 million print materials, 10.6 million videos, 1 million software programs, 15 million audio files, 4.8 million images, 255,000 concerts, and over 835 billion web pages in its Wayback Machine. Its mission is committing to provide "universal access to all knowledge".
A public library is a library, most often a lending library, that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also civil servants.
The Inter-American Development Bank is an international development finance institution headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States of America, and serving as the largest source of development financing for Latin America and the Caribbean. Established in 1959, the IDB supports Latin American and Caribbean economic development, social development and regional integration by lending to governments and government agencies, including State corporations.
A payday loan is a short-term unsecured loan, often characterized by high interest rates. These loans are typically designed to cover immediate financial needs and are intended to be repaid on the borrower's next payday.
A loan shark is a person who offers loans at extremely high or illegal interest rates, has strict terms of collection, and generally operates outside the law, often using the threat of violence or other illegal, aggressive, and extortionate actions when seeking to enforce the satisfaction of the debt. As a consistent or repeated illegal business operation or "racket", loansharking is generally associated with organized crime and certain criminal organizations.
A music library contains music-related materials for patron use. Collections may also include non-print materials, such as digitized music scores or audio recordings. Use of such materials may be limited to specific patron groups, especially in private academic institutions. Music library print collections include dictionaries and encyclopedias, indexes and directories, printed music, music serials, bibliographies, and other music literature.
Open Library is an online project intended to create "one web page for every book ever published". Created by Aaron Swartz, Brewster Kahle, Alexis Rossi, Anand Chitipothu, and Rebecca Malamud, Open Library is a project of the Internet Archive, a nonprofit organization. It has been funded in part by grants from the California State Library and the Kahle/Austin Foundation. Open Library provides online digital copies in multiple formats, created from images of many public domain, out-of-print, and in-print books.
ToolBank USA is a not-for-profit organization based in Atlanta, Georgia with a mission to strengthen local communities through the establishment of ToolBank affiliates across the United States and the provision of infrastructure to support affiliates. ToolBank USA affiliates are tool lending resources that serve charitable organizations in their metropolitan areas. ToolBank USA affiliates are stand-alone entities not consolidated with the ToolBank USA. ToolBank USA was established as a not-for-profit organization on March 27, 2008, in Georgia.
In finance, subprime lending is the provision of loans to people in the United States who may have difficulty maintaining the repayment schedule. Historically, subprime borrowers were defined as having FICO scores below 600, although this threshold has varied over time.
Upper Norwood Joint Library is a community managed library in Upper Norwood, South London. It stands on Westow Hill, in Crystal Palace town centre, within the London Borough of Lambeth, but on the edge of the boundary with the London Borough of Croydon. It is funded largely by Lambeth Council, and in part by Croydon Council, with the building itself managed by a community-run independent charity, the Upper Norwood Library Trust. It is part of the Lambeth network of libraries, and thus accepts Lambeth library membership cards.
The Alachua County Library District (ACLD) is an independent special taxing district and the sole provider of public library service to approximately 280,000 citizens of Alachua County, Florida. This includes all of the incorporated municipalities in the county. It maintains a Headquarters Library and four other branches in Gainesville. There are branch locations in seven of the eight other incorporated municipalities in the county. ACLD also operates a branch at the county jail, and two bookmobiles.
Gemach is a Jewish free-loan fund that subscribes to both the positive Torah commandment of lending money and the Torah prohibition against charging interest on a personal loan to a fellow Jew. Unlike bank loans, gemach loans are interest-free, and are often set up with easy repayment terms.
St. Louis County Library (SLCL) is a library system that serves residents of St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. It is the busiest public library in Missouri, circulating more than 11 million items in 2023. It consists of 20 branches, including the Headquarters branch, which is located at 1640 S. Lindbergh Blvd in Ladue, Missouri.
With over 17,000 libraries and 2.5 billion materials circulated annually in the United States alone, libraries are a ubiquitous part of the American landscape. However, as libraries modernize, they face an increasingly harsh budget environment, as well as technological disruption in media, scholarship, and education. The political, social, and technological environment is one of transformation and uncertainty.
A tool library or shared workshop is an example of a library of things. Tool libraries allow patrons to check out or borrow tools, equipment and "how-to" instructional materials, functioning either as a rental shop, with a charge for borrowing the tools, or more commonly free of charge as a form of community sharing. A tool library performs the following main tasks:
A payday loan is a small, short-term unsecured loan, "regardless of whether repayment of loans is linked to a borrower's payday." The loans are also sometimes referred to as "cash advances," though that term can also refer to cash provided against a prearranged line of credit such as a credit card. Payday advance loans rely on the consumer having previous payroll and employment records. Legislation regarding payday loans varies widely between different countries and, within the United States, between different states.
A seed library is an institution that lends or shares seed. It is distinguished from a seedbank in that the main purpose is not to store or hold germplasm or seeds against possible destruction, but to disseminate them to the public which preserves the shared plant varieties through propagation and further sharing of seed.
Ottawa Tool Library (OTL) is a not for profit tool lending public library system based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Tool libraries lend specialized tools for both experienced and inexperienced community members who are interested in home repair, maintenance, building projects, community projects, gardening and landscaping as well as cooking. The OTL offers annual, short-term, group and gift memberships. See the website for current rates.
A borrowing center, borrowing shop, borrowing bar, item library or library of things is a library of household items and tools, usually organized as a volunteer cooperative, nonprofit organization, or operated by the local public library.