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THE ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, JULY 26, 2022
At a Hillsboro library, patrons can check out an experience
A collection of unconventional items
By JENN CHAVEZ
Oregon Public Broadcasting
Way back before the COVID-19 pandemic, Debbie
Bowman browsed the Brookwood branch of the Hills-
boro Public Library and gushed:
“This is amazing. They have a cake decorating kit,”
she said. “And this other one, a digital projector? That
is awesome.”
There are plenty of books to check out at the library.
But also ... so many things.
“I like that panini maker, that would be awesome to
try. Or I know my sister’s tried an Instapot from here
before she bought one,” Bowman said, perusing more.
Libraries have long off ered more than just books:
Patrons can often fi nd movies, music, or games at their
nearest branch, too. Public libraries have also off ered
other non traditional items for checkout in the past,
like puppets or toys. But in recent years, some librar-
ies have built entire collections of even more uncon-
ventional items: Libraries of Things. One of the fi rst
collections of its kind in the United States is right here
in Hillsboro .
“Our motto for the library is ‘for everyone,’ and I
think this collection really epitomizes that thought,”
said Brendan Lax, a collection development librarian
at the Hillsboro Public Library — or our librarian of
things.
Years ago, Lax had already been stretching the
bounds of what the library system could off er its
patrons, including video games and board games.
Then he found inspiration from a 2014 trip to a few
unconventional collections in California. Lax visited
public libraries in Berkeley and Oakland to see their
expansive tool libraries. He also stopped by the fi rst
American Library of Things in Sacramento, which
had adopted its name from a nonprofi t collection in
London. He was particularly excited about the array
of musical instruments he saw there. It seemed like a
great way to pique patrons’ interest and curiosity.
He said to himself: “Hey, I never thought this could
be something my library could do for me!”
Lax decided to try some new things out in Hills-
boro’s collection, like educational STEM toys for kids
and kitchenware.
“And when kitchen gadgets come back, and they’re
still looking clean, and all these board games and parts
and pieces are coming back, and nothing’s missing, we
get the sense that we can pretty much try anything,”
Lax said.
Since then, Hillsboro’s Library of Things has
Jenna Deml/Oregon Public Broadcasting
Librarian Brendan Lax tunes newly donated ukuleles to make sure
they are ready for checkout.
grown to feature over 1,200 items, including nearly
600 board games. It’s helped inspire similar collec-
tions in the Portland area, across the state and around
the country.
Gadgets and gizmos
The library is full of unique off erings. Among them:
Toys that teach kids how to code, like the Code-a-pil-
lar. A microscope, or a 3D pen.
The collection includes plenty of non scientifi c fun
too, as patron Lindsay Erickson discovered on her
visit.
“Today I am borrowing a game where you get to
hit someone in the face with whipped cream,” Erick-
son said with a laugh. “So that’s gonna be super fun
for my kids.”
There’s a colorful parachute for playing games, and
a cornhole set and slackline kit for fun outdoors.
The collection is also a board gamer’s paradise.
And if, by chance, a piece goes missing? No problem:
Lax can often make new pieces using the library’s 3D
printer.
For kitchen adventurers, the off erings include a
huge collection of creative cake pans in diff erent
shapes and themes, a carnival-style popcorn popper,
Instapots, air fryers, a mochi maker. There is even a
chocolate fountain for more extravagant occasions.
“And, we have a Star Wars Death Star waffl e maker,
of course,” Lax said.
To tap into your fi lmmaker side, try a GoPro cam-
era, or a green screen kit.
There’s a sensory kit of diff erent devices, like a
night light or a weighted blanket, for people with sen-
sory processing issues to try out. And an air quality
monitor to test the air inside your home. The library
also checks out a few companion cats: robotic felines
that meow and move, designed for older adults who
can’t have live pets.
They’ve got several machines for converting video
tapes to DVD, so patrons like John Prosser can revisit
old memories.
“It was old cycling movies — I’m an avid cycler
— some of my old competition movies from 20 years
ago,” Prosser said.
He tried a violin once, too. “It was painful,” he said,
chuckling. “We brought it back probably a bit quicker
than we anticipated.”
The library’s musical instrument collection has
many fans. Keyboards, steel drums, ukuleles and more
are up for grabs. And the theremin — one of the earli-
est electronic instruments ever invented — was a big
hit with patron Sailor Jensen.
“It was pretty cool. The fact that you can control it
by lifting your hand up and down, left and right, that is
awesome,” Jensen said.
The Library of Things typically checks out items
for one week, although a few can be borrowed for lon-
ger. Lax said many are popular enough to have holds
on them, even those with multiple copies.
One good way to browse the wider selection is to
stroll through the library’s hold shelves. Another great
way is to check out its YouTube channel, where Lax
posts funny, creative videos he makes with his fellow
librarians spotlighting diff erent things in the collec-
tion. You can see him dressed up like Dick Van Dyke
from the movie “Mary Poppins,” showing off the
library’s chimney sweep (that item, by the way, was a
suggestion from the local fi re department).
In others, he’s edited into movies like “Jaws” and
“Star Wars” using the library’s green screen kit, facing
off in a banjo duel with Kermit the Frog, or hosting
kitchen game shows with diff erent culinary gizmos.
In keeping with its motto, the Library of Things has
something for everyone.
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