Libraries of Things: A Movement

Westa, Emily


Robinson, M. & Shedd, L. (2017). Audio recorders to zucchini seeds: Building a library of things. Santa Barbara, CA. ABC-CLIO.
Preview found here!


While this link leads not to an article, but rather to the first few chapters of a book, I feel that these few chapters give a great introduction and insight into the rising Library of Things movement. Many libraries in the Boston area (where I live), have been expanding their collections to include significant Library of Things (LoTs) collections and I’ve been noticing a rise in community engagement and excitement surrounding these new collections. This movement is nation-wide, and even international, and I believe it will continue to grow until LoTs are a staple in every major library. Let me know if your library has a LoT or is thinking about adding one!


Summary:

Beginning with a comprehensive history of the Library of Things movement and moving into case studies of LoTs in both public and academic libraries, Audio Recorders to Zucchini Seeds provides an engaging and complete overview of the movement as it has grown, how it looks today across the U.S.A, and what it could become as it continues to grow. The Library of Things movement has its roots in Curriculum Material Centers, offering real classroom materials for training and use by teachers-in-training, Tool Libraries, and other specialized collections, such as those with toys & games or multimedia collections. Today, many of these materials and objects are still a significant part of LoTs, but the possibilities of what can be included are both “diverse and limitless” (pg. 22). In Part II, we are presented with six case studies from public libraries with LoTs focused on everything from, bicycles to seeds, which people borrow, plant, and replace with new seeds grown in their plants during the next season. Part III focuses on academic libraries- providing us with seven case studies of LoTs with gaming consoles, video equipment, scopes, curriculum materials, technology and more. Although I haven’t read the end of the book (yet!), I know from the introduction that the last couple chapters focus on a special library in Alaska and an offering of best practices for libraries to consider and adopt when building their own Library of Things!


Evaluation:

Well written and extensively researched, Audio Recorders to Zucchini Seeds provides the most in depth discussion of the Library of Things movement that I could find online or in print. The introduction and history given in this book are comprehensive and clear. I especially appreciated the analysis of social movements, including the community sharing economy, that have supported LoTs and allowed these to move from specialized, unique collections to being more of the norm and expectation at many libraries across the U.S.A. The editors’ inclusion of case studies as the major content of this book brings in critical real-world experiences- successes and challenges. While I had only heard of LoTs at public libraries, the section on academic libraries opened my eyes to even greater possibilities for this type of collections as spanning across library types. Someday soon, LoTs could even exist in school libraries, supported the success of both students and school libraries. Overall, this book was well-written, engaging and incredibly informative. I would definitely recommend checking it out and at least reading the introduction, which provides an overview of each section. Let me know what you think!

Arduino Kits, Bakeware and LEGOs...Oh My!

Mejdrich, K. & Buss, E., & Lax, B. (2015). Arduino kits, bakeware and LEGOs…oh my!. OLA Quarterly, 20(4), 9-13. http://dx.doi.org/10.7710/1093-7374.20.04

Summary: The Hillsboro Public Library has been looking for innovative ways in which to expand library services to the patrons. By being innovative and seeking different ways in which to bring patrons in to the library by finding new ways to circulate non-traditional items in the library such as the Arduino kits that were donated to the library. After seeing the success of the Arduino kits, then more programs were created to bring bridge the gap between kids, teens, adults, and grandparents working together with LEGOs infusing the kids use of their creative skills. After realizing that there is only so much creativity that can be done by encouraging people to use the library, the Hillsboro Public Library staff thought of ways in which to circulate items that patrons might only use once or twice throughout the year that could benefit the community as a whole. That is when the thought occurred of circulating bakeware items that would encourage patrons to use them at home and share their creations on social media. At the time this article was published the bakeware items had only been circulating 2 months, and been very successful and looking for additional items to be added to the collection.

Response: Being a part of this same cooperative that the Hillsboro Public Library is at, I can see first hand how popular these special collections have become and how excited the patrons are to see them. This summer, the most popular item was the ice cream maker that the library was circulating in their library.

What to Collect? Building a local history reference collection at your library

Johnson, Stacey

 Marquis, Kathy & Waggener, Leslie (July 29, 2015). What To Collect?: Building a local history reference collection at your library. American Libraries Magazine.org. Retrieved from http://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2015/07/29/what-to-collect/

• This article covers how to create or expand your library's local history collection. It talks about what type of materials to add and what materials not to add. It also talks about a library policy covering these items and what you might want to have spelled out in that policy.
  
  • This is an excerpt from Local History Reference Collection for Public Libraries, by Kathy Marquis and Leslie Waggener (ALA Editions, 2015).
• I found this article interesting as we have a decent size local history collection, but are always looking to expand it. The article lists different types of material that you might want to add to a collection and material types that might not work well in a library collection (but would work if you want to make an archive collection). It also talked about creating a policy for what materials will be collected and which won’t and how. I think the book would be very interesting to read.

Non-traditional library collections – in digital and other worlds.

Mindie Marsh

NT

Michnik, K. & Eriksson, C. (2014). Non-traditional library collections – in digital and other worlds. Interlending & Document Supply, 42(4), p.165-170. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/ILDS-09-2014-0043

Summary
This article focused on non-traditional collections and how they might be developed. Non-traditional collections are often developed to attract new users to the library or based on user requests, but the authors argue that this can create unrealistic expectations of what the library is. Instead they encourage developing non-traditional collections based on items that will contribute to a library goal or activity. The article is written in Sweden so they look at common European library goals, but they are not terribly different than those in America. Creating a sustainable society, improving the population, informing a democratic society, social inclusiveness, equal opportunities and environmental impact. Based on these goals different libraries offered games, fitness and hiking equipment, electricity meters, opportunities to learn languages or be creative.

Evaluation

I found this article while searching for information about digital collections, and while it was different from what I was seeking, I found it valuable. The more I have heard about things like Maker Spaces in libraries the more I have wondered what justifies that expenditure over other parts of a library collection. Though the article did not address maker spaces directly, it did help clear this up for me. Michnik & Eriksson (2014) really explained that it all has to do with the institutional goals of the library or larger organization. My local library loans cultural passes, that provide free admission to local museums because part of the library's mission statement is to provide access to the universe of ideas and information. I was thinking as I was reading about libraries loaning hiking gear that that would be a very useful service here, but the expense is not oriented to the library's larger goals, and so is not justified.