I hesitated as I stood face to face with an electric sander in the West Roxbury Home Depot. I knew that if I bought it I would probably use it only once — for the kitchen cabinet project that had brought me to aisle 18 that day. But sanding had to happen. That was five years ago, and the sander has waited patiently for a new call to duty ever since.
This isn’t the only barely used tool I own — far from it. Mine are all practically new. I can’t bear to chuck them into the waste stream. And anyway, I might need that sander again someday.
A couple of years ago I read something about tool libraries. I love this idea. Maybe I’d never have bought any of these tools had there been an easy way to borrow them. Periodically I search localtools.org in the hope that I’ll see a little red pin on the Outer Cape. So far, no luck. But recently I heard that the Provincetown Public Library has a “library of things.” Had my dream come true?
While a library of things “has been on the radar for a while,” it’s come to life only in the last few months, Library Director Amy Raff tells me. The logistics of acquiring, cataloging, storing, and maintaining a collection are complicated and time consuming. A book can simply be reshelved, but a stand mixer has to be cleaned, checked, and maintained. Moreover, the collection takes up much more room than books.
Still, Raff says, “a library is primarily a culture of borrowing, of sharing, and of equal access,” so, a library of things is “a natural extension of that culture.” To build a good collection, she says, the library has tried to choose useful things that many people might not be able to afford or that don’t get used very often.
Provincetown’s small collection is housed front and center on the library’s main floor, across from the circulation desk. My eye is drawn to the KitchenAid mixer in the color I’ve always wanted — fire engine red. The collection currently consists of 22 items, including popsicle molds, portable power chargers, a light for combatting seasonal affective disorder, a dremel, a ukulele, a kids’ metal detector, specialty bakeware, a food dehydrator, a sewing machine, and knitting and crocheting supplies. The most popular items, says Raff, are the sewing machine, the stand mixer, and the ukulele.
Raff tells me that Truro, Wellfleet, and Eastham also have collections of useful things that can be checked out.
Truro’s collection has been around for about five years, says Library Director Tricia Ford. It includes about 30 items that are similar to those on offer in Provincetown: a sewing machine, two ukuleles and a guitar, gardening tools, a CD Walkman, an iron, and a cassette-to-MP3 converter. The funding for one of the most popular items — mobile wi-fi hotspots — has run out, but Ford says she is looking for ways to get those back into the collection.
But I am most captivated by the telescope. The Aldrich Astronomical Society has placed telescopes at libraries and colleges throughout Massachusetts. What could be more perfect for a beginner astronomer wanting to learn to watch the dark skies of the Outer Cape?
Eastham’s collection is quite different from Provincetown’s and Truro’s. Here, Outreach Librarian Marianne Sinopoli, who was instrumental in developing the collection, says it was built with two groups in mind: children and their families and people with sight, hearing, or cognitive impairment.
For families, there are puzzles and board games, some with learning components and some just for fun (think classics such as Connect 4, Sorry!, and Chutes and Ladders). Sinopoli is especially proud of the “Kits for Kids” the library has assembled. She says Eastham borrowed the idea from successful programs in other public libraries.
They are designed to be appropriate for four different age groups and filled with things like binoculars and magnifying glasses, compasses, and journals — the kind of things you might need for birdwatching, rock hounding, seashore exploring, animal track identifying, or stargazing.
Also available are mobile wi-fi hotspots for those who live beyond the reach of cable wi-fi services. And Eastham has one of the Aldrich Astronomical Society telescopes, too.
Wellfleet is just getting its library of things started, although the library has a history of lending things other than books. “Many years ago,” said Assistant Director Naomi Czekaj-Robbins, “we loaned out video cameras, tablets, and digital cameras.” Currently, hotspots are available and soon the library hopes to add Chromebooks.
The library’s near-term goal is to lend a telescope, a sewing machine, and knitting needles. They’re also considering adding tools and musical instruments.
Wellfleet Library Director Jennifer Wertkin told me that, in partnership with the Wellfleet Recycling Committee, the library is cataloging items that will be part of a community cutlery initiative. The idea, says Wertkin, is to give people a way to stop using disposable plastic partyware and instead borrow real reusable plates, cups, and cutlery.
The library has run a successful pilot of the project and, once the cataloging of the items is complete, the collection should be adequate for gatherings like weddings or family reunions.
Although on my rounds to the libraries I didn’t discover my longed-for tool library exactly, I wasn’t the least bit disappointed. The librarians’ enthusiasm about the culture of sharing is encouraging. I can’t wait to check out some of the items I learned about. First on my list is one of those telescopes.
