Explore WCPL’s Library of Things
Public libraries have provided free access to books and materials for many years in an effort to both inform and entertain. With access to books to informational resources, like newspapers, magazines, and scholarly journals as bedrock staples, services remained largely the same for years. When digital books entered the scene, some feared that print materials would fade away, but they have still remained vital to our offerings provided in tandem with digital formats, with the ratio changing just slightly. In the past decade or so, there has been another interesting development: an expansion of the scope and definition of “library materials” to include items like tools, toys, and other useful objects. Defined as a “Library of Things,” the term was introduced and popularized by a non-profit entity in London that opened up a public tool library in 2014.
Our own library system has experimented in times past with a variety of non-traditional items. Back in the Bowling Green Public Library days, our system circulated art prints that people could use to temporarily decorate their homes. Additionally, in the late 1990s/early 2000s, a circulating toy collection was a resource accessible at the system’s now closed Sugar Maple Branch. In recent years, what started with a small collection of children’s puzzles has developed into an eclectic Library of Things, a fun, useful collection that includes ukuleles, sewing machines, telescopes, cake pans, activity kits, hobby kits, board games, video games, fishing poles, and more! While a catalog search for “3D Object” will bring up some of the items, you can access the complete list through this link: tinyurl.com/LibraryOfThingsWCPL.
Make Plans for Upcoming Events
We have several upcoming author events on the books that we don’t want you to miss, so grab your calendars, and mark these dates:
•Tuesday, August 4, at 6pm, Bob Kirby Branch – Meet author Lauren Nossett. 50 free copies of her newest novel Indie Darling – a page-turning mystery set in Nashville – will be given away on a first-come, first-served basis.
•Tuesday, September 1, at 6pm, Bob Kirby Branch – Meet author Lisa Patton. We will be giving 50 free copies of her latest book, Kissing the Sky – a music-infused coming-of-age story set in the 1960s – to the first attendees.
•Sunday, September 6, 2pm, Lisa Rice Library – Enjoy a free musical performance by Sean Gaskell, who will perform songs on the kora, a 21-stringed West African harp that has an 800-year history dating back to the founding of the Mande empire.
While a little more down the road, we are happy to announce that at the end of next month, the library will have the privilege of hosting a book signing for Kentucky’s Governor Andy Beshear at The Capitol on Tuesday, September 29, at 6pm We will distribute 500 free copies of his new memoir to the first in attendance. Tickets will not be required.
Donate to FOL’s Used Book Sale (Coming Soon)!
There are still a few weeks left to downsize your personal library and donate any gently used unwanted books you have for the Friends of the Library’s Used Book Sale. While they end up at the Bob Kirby Branch Library, you can drop them off at any library location. They will also accept DVDs, CDs, LPs, board games, and puzzles, but no textbooks, encyclopedias, or magazines, please. Donations will pause for two weeks in early September (9/6 through 9/21), allowing time for sale set-up and break-down. Below are the sale dates and times:
•Thursday, 9/17 Members Only Preview Night: 4pm-8pm
•Friday, 9/18 Public Sale: 9am-5pm
•Saturday, 9/19 Public Sale: 9am-5pm
•Sunday, 9/20 Members Only Bag Day Hour: 1pm-2pm
•Sunday, 9/20 Public Bag Day: 2pm-5pm
Be sure to keep up with all things library by following us on social media (@warrencountypl), checking out our online calendar of events (warrenpl.org/calendar), or signing up for our email newsletter (tinyurl.com/WCPLNews). There’s nothing we love more than seeing and serving you at the library!
-by Ashley Fowlkes, Digital Content Manager
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