Genoa Branch Library Manager Meg Parker, left, and Program Librarian Abigail Sullivan stand in front of the Library of Things display. (Photo by Sheri Trusty)

BY SHERI TRUSTY

GENOA – A generation ago, public libraries were quiet, serious places where the loudest word patrons would hear was a stern “Shhh!” from a librarian. Today, libraries serve as community hubs where local residents can connect with people and resources that can make their lives fuller and better. At Harris-Elmore & Genoa Branch Libraries, patrons enter to the happy buzz of their neighbors cheerfully chatting with the staff and each other.

They’ll still find stacks and stacks of books at Genoa and Elmore libraries, but they’ll also find things to borrow that their grandparents never dreamed would be in a library, like the pressure washer, radon detector and furniture dolly at Genoa.

They are all part of the Library of Things, a section of nontraditional items on loan at the libraries.

“It’s a collection of unusual items you won’t find in a traditional library. It started years ago with cake pans,” said Genoa Branch Program Librarian Abigail Sullivan. “Then we received a State Library of Ohio grant, and it grew and grew.”

Genoa’s Library of Things includes many items, like yard games, Chromebooks, hot glue guns and mobile hotspots.

“We have a few mobile hotspots,” Sullivan said. “A lot of people in town don’t have internet access or it’s a financial burden.”

The two libraries have some items in common, but some were purchased by patron request by their home library, like Elmore’s cotton candy maker, Cricut mug press and metal detector. Items at both libraries are available to loan for one week.

The Library of Things was born out of a desire to meet current needs in the community.

The Library of Things allows patrons to borrow nontraditional items from the library, like carpet shampooers and cotton candy makers. (Photo by Sheri Trusty)

“The library is always evolving. The community evolves, and we have to keep up,” Sullivan said.

State Library of Ohio grant recipients were required to use the funds on a project that would also benefit local organizations. The Library of Things has been utilized by many local groups, including FFA, Genoa High School and Genoa Retirement Village, which borrowed the lawn games for a day of fun for its residents.

“The Genoa fourth graders will visit the Genoa Town Hall, and we’re going to bring the lawn games,” said Genoa Branch Manager Meg Parker.

But library patrons receive the most benefit from the Library of Things. It offers resources for entertainment and everyday life. Patron response has been overwhelmingly positive, especially when the items save them time and money by keeping them from purchasing something like a pressure washer that they may only use once a year. Patrons are grateful for the Library of Things.

“Someone told me they saw one at a bigger library, and they’re glad we have it here,” Sullivan said.

The Library of Things is still growing. Between the two libraries, more than 50 items will be added to the collections this year. They include a tent, a blood pressure monitor, a mini pottery wheel, a post hole digger, a ukulele, an inflatable movie screen and a karaoke machine.

Like Sullivan, Parker believes the Library of Things is another way to meet today’s community needs.

“It keeps us relevant. We have to move with the times,” Parker said. “We’re not just books anymore.”