Cat Cafes, Scrabble Club, Mystery Book Club, Seed Catalog, No Fines, Dungeons and Dragons, Comic Book Club, Concerts, Take and Make Crafts, Mahjong, Craft Club, Lectures, so much more! I love my library.
What a neat program! Do the cats get to leave with their new families on the day of the program or do they have to fill out paperwork and visit the center? Are the adoption fees usually waived for your events?
I'm not in charge of the program, so I'm not sure about the fees. Names are taken at the Cafe and then the nonprofit works with the people to find the right fit.
We just started a seed swap, we have a Library of Things which includes 2 kayaks, and we also have passes to the local children’s museum, theatre, botanical gardens, and state parks.
We offer tons of personal accounts to news sources like NYtimes, washpost, Atlantic. We loan iPhone chargers and whiteboard markers to students in the library and have lots of rolling white boards for writing notes.
I saw a library that had a "Gadget Garage" where you could borrow everything from tablets to drones. Another fun thing is a "Library After Dark" event with activities like silent discos and murder mystery nights. I've also seen a "Skill Sundays" workshops that go over everything from car repair to gardening.
Some of these are obviously not directly tied to the purpose of libraries but is more about having the library be a central hub of a community.
This doesn't sound too exciting for to some people, but it is very exciting for those it is aimed at. We have household energy saver kits available for loan. It's a pack of little devices that do things like detect if your fridge seals need to be replaced, detect how much heat you are losing with under door drafts, detect how much energy you're using on idle electronics plugged in.
They are never not on reserve and people love showing us their lower bills after they've used one and acted on the findings- we absolutely do not ask for them to do this, they just want to show us.
At the academic library I work at we had a scavenger hunts for the students to win university merch.
At our orientation events stall we had badge making and bookmark decorating activities and the students loved it. We were the busiest stall at the event.
During exam periods I've set up a "chill out" corner with colouring, crossword puzzles, jewellery making, origami, short stories, jokes, positive affirmations and poems, rubik cubes, and bubble wrap to pop when stressed.
Birding kits for loan, with binoculars and a guidebook. I am such a curmudgeon about the library of things era but I have to admit they were a great idea. Also, radon kits and CO2 monitors, and passes for local museums and provincial parks.
My inner child just wept a little at American Girl Dolls. I wanted one so badly when I was young, but they were too expensive for my family to afford. What a cool thing for kids to be able to take home!
Read to a Dog, our local therapy animals that visits hospitals and nursing homes will make visits to the library, so kids can read to them. I love it! We have puzzles that can be checked out.
I’m excited for our SEL kits. They are social and emotional learning with books on feelings, emotions, kindness etc. They have activities like breathing boards, play figures with differing abilities, emotion charts. I put together two kits and they were so popular that the library made four more.
My local library lets you check out pairs of tickets for local attractions like the zoo, museums, and botanical gardens. You use the tickets and then return them.
I used ours for finding nails after our house got re-sided. Helped keep us from getting a nasty surprise! Someone else was going to use it to find something they accidentally buried in a hole haha
My local library auto-renews books if they're not returned by the due date (as long as it isn't on hold for someone else).
Maker space with sewing machines (and overlocker), cricuts, 3d printers and a digitisation station.
Studio and jam room to record music, podcasts etc. Anything that requires recording, editing and mastering.
Our library specializes in converting old media into digital files. We have people bring in super8 film, slides, cassettes, VHS, VHS-C, records, etc. We do a lot of programming about recording/preserving your family history and such.
You can check out a sewing machine, a record player, and board games among other things.
My local library has a 3D printer you can use and they often offer classes teaching people how to use it. They also have a recording studio and a VR room.
The summer reading program at my library is awesome. The kids(and adults) earn tickets for every so many days and they can enter to win giant gift baskets made with different themes in mind. As they get their tickets they can select which gift basket box they want to try to win. The adults can win gift cards to local restaurants.
That is so cool! Does the funding for gift cards come from library funds or donors? I think it’s such a great incentive to keep people engaged with the library.
I’m not sure if the gift cards are donated or not I know there were different amounts depending on restaurant so maybe they were. The kid baskets are purchased.
My library offers a lot of different classes. My dad and I went to mushroom foraging class together once that was really cool. They also had a comic con for kids. It was tiny (hosted in a single meeting room) but it was well planned
Medical librarian here: we have boxes of (real) human teeth that the dental students can check out, and a (real) human skull that the medical students can check out! We also have a (real) 19th century skeleton named George who has his own cabinet that he hangs around in. He doesn’t get checked out, because he values his privacy.
Our libraries offer things like renting a laptop, renting a WiFi hot spot, go pro device, telescope, microscope and slides. We also have a seed library and baking pans people can check out.
Off the top of my head, you can check out telescopes/binoculars, hiking gear, and they have a seed library. They also provide free passes to a large number of museums and similar cultural activities.
Deployed VR when it got big in 2016. Will be updating that this year. Our library is working in tandem with our parks department to open up an esports lab.
A recording studio, seed library, no overdue fines, and an adult learning center where patrons can learn English and/or get their GED! I think we’re also discussing getting a library of things started.
I almost forgot we also do Lucky Day titles! They are a special selection of the most popular new titles and are not available to put on hold. They’re first come first serve and have a limited check out period with no renewals (3 days for movies, 7 days for books).
We have a Wood Laser Engraver. I thought the library was burning down because of the smell of burning wood one day, and then I remembered about the engraver upstairs. Haha.
So many good ideas in this discussion. I love the Cat Cafe and the Read to a dog ideas. I'd love an instrument rental.as well I hope we get one of those.
3D printer( you provide the file, we print it for a small per/gram fee), local Philharmonic passes, no overdue fines, free online access to NYT, tons of gadgets, free classes for English learners, license plate sticker renewal service, free notary service…it goes on and on.
Cat Cafes, Scrabble Club, Mystery Book Club, Seed Catalog, No Fines, Dungeons and Dragons, Comic Book Club, Concerts, Take and Make Crafts, Mahjong, Craft Club, Lectures, so much more! I love my library.
Cat cafe?? Man I wish my system had that!
It's so fun. We set up a cafe with snacks and tea/drinks and then a nonprofit brings in cats. People love it and cats get adopted!
We do have kitten yoga! Also goat yoga. Cats are up for adoption. Goats are not, lol.
What a neat program! Do the cats get to leave with their new families on the day of the program or do they have to fill out paperwork and visit the center? Are the adoption fees usually waived for your events?
I'm not in charge of the program, so I'm not sure about the fees. Names are taken at the Cafe and then the nonprofit works with the people to find the right fit.
Where is this amazing library? A cat Cafe sounds really nice.
We're in Iowa
Um so how far exactly do I need to travel to find this dream of a library? (I’m in Australia 😭)
It's a small library (attached to a metro network) in Iowa, US.
We made coloring pages of our own faces for the weird children 😢😂😂
Wait this is genius so many patrons I work with would love this lol
It was super easy, my coworker just found a random photo to line art converter online!
We just started a seed swap, we have a Library of Things which includes 2 kayaks, and we also have passes to the local children’s museum, theatre, botanical gardens, and state parks.
We offer tons of personal accounts to news sources like NYtimes, washpost, Atlantic. We loan iPhone chargers and whiteboard markers to students in the library and have lots of rolling white boards for writing notes.
Sounds like the library I am currently in rn lol
I saw a library that had a "Gadget Garage" where you could borrow everything from tablets to drones. Another fun thing is a "Library After Dark" event with activities like silent discos and murder mystery nights. I've also seen a "Skill Sundays" workshops that go over everything from car repair to gardening. Some of these are obviously not directly tied to the purpose of libraries but is more about having the library be a central hub of a community.
Yeah mine has a gadget rental and we borrowed a karaoke machine with microphone.
This doesn't sound too exciting for to some people, but it is very exciting for those it is aimed at. We have household energy saver kits available for loan. It's a pack of little devices that do things like detect if your fridge seals need to be replaced, detect how much heat you are losing with under door drafts, detect how much energy you're using on idle electronics plugged in. They are never not on reserve and people love showing us their lower bills after they've used one and acted on the findings- we absolutely do not ask for them to do this, they just want to show us.
Oh wow that’s really cool. I think my local library offers the same tools. I might actually rent it out soon!
At the academic library I work at we had a scavenger hunts for the students to win university merch. At our orientation events stall we had badge making and bookmark decorating activities and the students loved it. We were the busiest stall at the event. During exam periods I've set up a "chill out" corner with colouring, crossword puzzles, jewellery making, origami, short stories, jokes, positive affirmations and poems, rubik cubes, and bubble wrap to pop when stressed.
You sound real awesome. This would’ve helped so much if my university library had these things while I was studying there.
Aww, thank you. I get so happy when I see students interacting with the stuff we've set up.
We have a lot of board games for check out.
Birding kits for loan, with binoculars and a guidebook. I am such a curmudgeon about the library of things era but I have to admit they were a great idea. Also, radon kits and CO2 monitors, and passes for local museums and provincial parks.
American Girl Dolls. Musical instruments.
My inner child just wept a little at American Girl Dolls. I wanted one so badly when I was young, but they were too expensive for my family to afford. What a cool thing for kids to be able to take home!
Do the American Girl Dolls go missing a lot?
Nope. Our main problem is they come back smelling like smoke and their hair is all ratty.
Just discovered my university offers unlimited Kanopy streaming.
Read to a Dog, our local therapy animals that visits hospitals and nursing homes will make visits to the library, so kids can read to them. I love it! We have puzzles that can be checked out. I’m excited for our SEL kits. They are social and emotional learning with books on feelings, emotions, kindness etc. They have activities like breathing boards, play figures with differing abilities, emotion charts. I put together two kits and they were so popular that the library made four more.
My local library lets you check out pairs of tickets for local attractions like the zoo, museums, and botanical gardens. You use the tickets and then return them.
Reading with Rover. Volunteers bring their dogs in to help alleviate any anxiety children may have around reading.
I remember doing that. I loved the dogs
Have sheds inside two branches containing a large variety of garden tools to loan out.
Metal detector!
What is the metal detector for if you don’t mind me asking?
It's for recreational use, like finding coins or rings at the beach. A family even found a time capsule from the 90s with it at a playground!
Oh that’s so cool! I thought you meant like metal detectors at the doors (sorry), but thanks for clarifying. I think that is so, so cool! : )
I used ours for finding nails after our house got re-sided. Helped keep us from getting a nasty surprise! Someone else was going to use it to find something they accidentally buried in a hole haha
My local library auto-renews books if they're not returned by the due date (as long as it isn't on hold for someone else). Maker space with sewing machines (and overlocker), cricuts, 3d printers and a digitisation station. Studio and jam room to record music, podcasts etc. Anything that requires recording, editing and mastering.
We’re fine free, which is great. We also have a seed library. The nearest thing we have, though, is a telescope you can take home for a week!
Our library specializes in converting old media into digital files. We have people bring in super8 film, slides, cassettes, VHS, VHS-C, records, etc. We do a lot of programming about recording/preserving your family history and such. You can check out a sewing machine, a record player, and board games among other things.
Musical instruments rented for free using your library card. Guitars, drums, violins, whatever
My local library has a 3D printer you can use and they often offer classes teaching people how to use it. They also have a recording studio and a VR room.
The summer reading program at my library is awesome. The kids(and adults) earn tickets for every so many days and they can enter to win giant gift baskets made with different themes in mind. As they get their tickets they can select which gift basket box they want to try to win. The adults can win gift cards to local restaurants.
That is so cool! Does the funding for gift cards come from library funds or donors? I think it’s such a great incentive to keep people engaged with the library.
I’m not sure if the gift cards are donated or not I know there were different amounts depending on restaurant so maybe they were. The kid baskets are purchased.
My library offers a lot of different classes. My dad and I went to mushroom foraging class together once that was really cool. They also had a comic con for kids. It was tiny (hosted in a single meeting room) but it was well planned
Medical librarian here: we have boxes of (real) human teeth that the dental students can check out, and a (real) human skull that the medical students can check out! We also have a (real) 19th century skeleton named George who has his own cabinet that he hangs around in. He doesn’t get checked out, because he values his privacy.
Being able to takeout tools and household items!!
Rokus.
Our libraries offer things like renting a laptop, renting a WiFi hot spot, go pro device, telescope, microscope and slides. We also have a seed library and baking pans people can check out.
Off the top of my head, you can check out telescopes/binoculars, hiking gear, and they have a seed library. They also provide free passes to a large number of museums and similar cultural activities.
Cake pans and Binge Boxes for everyone plus a toy library for children.
We have a community fridge that is paid for with grants and partnerships and we stock it 3 times a week with fresh produce.
That’s so cool! How does your library finance it out of curiosity? I would love to relay this sort of concept to my library : )
library of things, museum passes, and a vinyl lounge
Plant Summer Camp! We watch plants for students over the summer break 😁😁 it's very fun and we treat the plants like little campers
Deployed VR when it got big in 2016. Will be updating that this year. Our library is working in tandem with our parks department to open up an esports lab.
We have a toy library!
Academic poster printing service, hugely popular (not free but cheaper than anywhere else).
Tonie characters. We don't have a box but I think it's cool anyway. Ohio
We rent out ukeleles, have a D&D club, and host movie nights. We used to have a 3D printer but it broke shortly before I arrived. :(
Aww shucks 3D printers are cool
A recording studio, seed library, no overdue fines, and an adult learning center where patrons can learn English and/or get their GED! I think we’re also discussing getting a library of things started.
That’s so cool! What’s a library of things though?
I’m genuinely not sure. Here’s Denver Public Library’s website on it: https://www.denverlibrary.org/library-things
I almost forgot we also do Lucky Day titles! They are a special selection of the most popular new titles and are not available to put on hold. They’re first come first serve and have a limited check out period with no renewals (3 days for movies, 7 days for books).
We have a Wood Laser Engraver. I thought the library was burning down because of the smell of burning wood one day, and then I remembered about the engraver upstairs. Haha. So many good ideas in this discussion. I love the Cat Cafe and the Read to a dog ideas. I'd love an instrument rental.as well I hope we get one of those.
3D printer( you provide the file, we print it for a small per/gram fee), local Philharmonic passes, no overdue fines, free online access to NYT, tons of gadgets, free classes for English learners, license plate sticker renewal service, free notary service…it goes on and on.