Did you know you can check out more than books and DVDs at your public library?
Literacy isn’t the only thing on a public library’s agenda. Libraries aim to improve access information and provide education for everyone in their community. And book learnin’ on how to become a carpenter or play the guitar can only take you so far. To truly master these crafts, you need tools and instruments. That’s where public libraries can help.
To offer their patrons of all income levels more opportunities to learn and get involved in their communities, check out a few weird and unusual things you may be able to borrow from your public library.
1. Passes to Museums and Zoos
Many public libraries circulate free passes to local museums, zoos, state parks and other activities. These often cover the whole family, and some require a child under 18 to be part of your group.
Libraries that offer museum passes often have a limited number available and loan them out on a first-come, first-served basis. It might be tough to snag one, especially during school vacations and over the summer. If you’re itching to go for a museum for cheap, you can also use free and discounted museum days to your advantage.
2. American Girl Dolls
Can’t fathom spending $115 or more on a doll? Check your public library to see if you can borrow one. Though this isn’t a common library item available for checkout, the few library programs across the United States that lend dolls to young patrons are extremely popular and limit the rentals to one week. Some even include a journal so you can see where else the doll has been.
The Arlington Public Library in Virginia has an American Girl Lending Program. You can also borrow a doll from East Village branch library in New York and the Allegheny County Library Association in Pennsylvania. Some of the dolls arrived at their temporary library homes via private donations and others were donated by the American Girl company itself.
3. Telescopes
Budding engineers or scientists who don’t want to drop hundreds of dollars on instruments and tools can sometimes borrow them from their local library.
Many libraries loan out science tools such as microscopes, binoculars, meters, globes and even human and animal skeletons.
“Sometimes you need tools in order to do cool science projects,” Celeste Choate, the Ann Arbor, Michigan associate director for services, collections and access told USA Today when the library began to to circulate science tools. “Not everybody can afford a pH meter.”
4. Musical Instruments
Different libraries loan all sorts of instruments to patrons, from banjos to guitars to electric keyboards and more.
The Ann Arbor Library circulates the most comprehensive and unusual collection of musical instruments, which includes an LSDJ Game Boy (a modified game boy that makes music), Otamatones (a Japanese instrument that’s nearly impossible to explain) and Boomwhackers (percussionists will love ‘em.)
Some libraries, such as the Seattle Public Library, have music practice rooms you can reserve where you can make all the noise you want as you learn to play.
5. Hammers, Drills and Rakes
Tackle a few DIY projects or finish those nagging home improvement tasks without dropping your entire paycheck on tools. Many libraries have a few basic tools on hand and others, like the Oakland Public Library, have more than 3,500 tools, books and how-to videos and DVDs available for loan.
In fact, tool lending libraries extend beyond public libraries. Dedicated tool libraries in New Orleans, Louisiana; Portland, Maine; and Phoenix, Arizona loan or rent tools. Use this list of tool lending libraries to find one near you.
6. Board Games and Puzzles
Fine-tune your mad Scrabble or Monopoly skills at your public library. Several libraries keep board games collections for patrons to play. Some allow you to check them out, but others require you play within library walls to minimize lost pieces. Several libraries also circulate video games.
7. Cake Pans
Bake up a Darth Vader, Elmo or T-Rex cake for a special occasion without buying the pan. A lot of libraries have extensive cake pan collections; this one is more common than you’d think! Here’s just a handful of libraries that loan cake pans:
- Keokuk, Iowa
- North Haven Memorial Library, Connecticut
- Coventry, Rhode Island
- Somerset, Massachusetts
- Andover Public Library, Kansas
- Albuquerque/Bernalillo Library, New Mexico
If you’ve got a theme party coming up, it’s worth a call to your local library to see if they have a collection you can borrow from.
8. Pedometers
Community health organizations or health care companies often donate pedometers to libraries to encourage participation in their initiatives that promote health and wellness. See if your library is one of them.
While you’re at it, you might as well check your library’s audiobook database so you can listen while you log your steps. Many public libraries partner with a company called Overdrive to offer audiobooks that download to your iPhone, Android or other MP3 device, then magically disappear when the rental period ends.
9. Wi-Fi Hotspots
Cutting out Internet can help you save significantly on monthly expenses. But if you work from home or are on the job hunt, it’s not easy to go without. While most libraries have public computers, you’re limited to using them during the hours the library’s open. That’s why some libraries have come up with a way to lend Internet access to patrons.
The New York Public Library allows patrons without home Internet to check out wi-fi hotspots for six months. (But keep in mind this program is really intended for patrons who can’t afford Internet, not for those who don’t feel like paying for it.) Other libraries — including those in Chicago and Seattle — lend wi-fi hotspots for shorter three-week periods.
Tips for Checking Out
If you don’t have a library card, you won’t have access to any of these items. So get one! Also keep in mind that many of these bizarre collections are quite popular — the library wouldn’t offer them if there weren’t a need or interest in them. So check with your library to see if you place a hold to get your name on the waiting list. Even when you do reserve materials, be prepared to wait awhile. That waiting list could be months long.
Some libraries do not allow holds to be placed on popular items. So the best way to snag that highly sought-after museum pass is to be the first in line when the library opens.
Lastly, nothing from the library is truly free if you don’t return it on time. The fines for these overdue items may be much heftier than returning a book or DVD a day late. Double-check the rental period — which is often different than for books — and be sure to return everything on time.
Your Turn: Have you borrowed anything weird or unusual from your library? Let us know in the comments!
Disclosure: We have a serious Taco Bell addiction around here. The affiliate links in this post help us order off the dollar menu. Thanks for your support!
Betsy Mikel is a Chicago-based freelance copywriter. She loves biking all over every city she visits to find its best taqueria.
The post 9 Weird Things You Didn’t Know You Could Borrow From the Library appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.
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