Library Tech Confidential

 It’s always interesting to see public libraries try lending novel, non-book, non-audiovisual materials. While seeking information about a recent extreme heat alert, I caught the following in a press release from the City of Toronto:

Toronto Public Health and the Toronto Public Library are teaming up with community partners to make pedometers available for loan at 18 library branches throughout the city. This initiative is part of a new Walk into Health program to encourage people to build physical activity into their daily lives. In 2007, over 2,000 pedometers were lent out at 12 branches. Those who borrowed last year stated that pedometers helped them continue walking for exercise.

Last year, SunLife Financial began sponsoring the Musem and Arts Pass, which allows patrons to ’sign out’ tickets good for admission to a number of large and small cultural attractions all over the city.

What other cool stuff do — or could — our public our libraries lend?

Simple, durable objects (like hand tools or sturdy toys) spring to mind as the most practical options, while anything fragile or so expensive as to necessitate a deposit (like laptops) is probably out of the running right away. The most obvious choices here would be objects that dovetail with other municipal programs (hance the pedomters for public health and museum passes under the rubric of ‘culture’).

Because TPL’s 99 branches blanket the city fairly evenly, I have long felt they could play some part in rolling out some future city-wide bicycle rental scheme; however, I’m sure lending complex mechanical devices is much too tricky (and costly) to easily graft onto the library circulation model. Perhaps libraries would be most useful as handy municipal property rather than as administrators of such a program.

If anyone knows of other interesting items circulated by public libararies around the world, I’d love to hear about it in the comments.