Shortly after starting a new chapter—buying a Colonial home on the edge of the Aurora Hills and Arlington Ridge neighborhoods with her husband and daughter—Mary Wierzbicki discovered there’s more to the story at the Arlington Public Library than what fits on a page. Worried about heat loss in her home through poorly sealed windows, she decided to seek help. But instead of hiring a contractor, she turned to the library—not to read about how to fix her leaky windows, but to borrow the tools needed for the job.
Wierzbicki checked out a thermal imaging camera from the library’s collection of specialized tools. Using the Chapstick-size camera (which connects to Android and iOS devices), she easily found which seals needed repair. “Where we had newer windows, we could see the difference versus the places where the windows hadn’t been replaced,” Wierzbicki says.
The thermal imaging device, which sells for about $200 new, is one of many handy tools people might be surprised to learn they can take home for free with a library card. Wheelbarrows, drills, lightbulbs and binoculars are probably not top of mind for many people heading to the library (unless they’re looking for books about them), but patrons can check out gardening equipment and home repair tools, and even access crafting and sewing machinery as part of the library’s extensive non-book collections.
“One thing people don’t know is a lot of libraries have these other collections, the Library of Things,” says Jennifer Rothschild, Arlington’s collection engagement librarian.
That’s not all. There are toys, too. The library’s American Girl Lending Program is very popular among patrons. It has 82 of the dolls (which cost more than $100 to purchase new) based on 19 historical characters, which library members can borrow to take home. “In 2023, they went out over 1,000 times,” Rothschild says. Each doll comes with a book that tells the story of the girl’s era, along with a history card detailing what Arlington life would have been like in that time period.
Other lending collections can help patrons with home repairs, electrical issues and tree pruning. There are computer and cell phone accessories, and large-size equipment and power tools for those who don’t have space to store such items—or need them only for a one-time job.
Two summers ago, Wierzbicki, who walks to the Aurora Hills Library branch every week, borrowed a wireless hotspot (a mobile device that provides portable, high-speed internet) to use on a road trip. “We wanted to be able to use phones to entertain people in the backseat at a time when we had a data charge on our cell phone plan,” she says. “That allowed us to use data and not incur big charges on our cell phone bill.”
The thermal imaging camera she used is part of the Energy Lending Library, which also offers an LED light bulb sampler kit through a partnership with Arlington County’s carbon-neutrality program, the Arlington Initiative to Rethink Energy.
“It’s like a suitcase full of a bunch of different light bulbs,” Rothschild says. “Before you invest $30 in a lightbulb, you can check it out and try out the different light bulbs in your actual light fixture, so you know which one to buy.”
Need a hand tool, bike repair kit or camping equipment, but don’t want to own it? The library has those, too, in its DIY Collection. Find pumps, pressure gauges, stud finders, automotive tools, a picture-hanging kit and even a portable phone charger/lantern combo. You can put these items on hold and pick them up at any of the library’s nine branches, just like book loans. Keep them for 14 days and renew them up to three times—as long as someone else hasn’t placed a hold.
The library’s story times are its most popular in-person events, but patrons who can’t get to one don’t have to miss out. Parents can borrow an at-home story time kit with read-aloud books, songs, craft templates and sample outlines.
“When my daughter was little, we used to check those out,” says Wierzbicki. “It’s a red bag with picture books around a theme, and then they had felt cutouts or a puppet—something like a hand or finger puppet. It was a fun, curated little group of books. There is something different [about it] than just checking out random picture books.”
Kids of all ages can browse the stacks or the online catalog for puzzles and games to borrow, too.
Not all of the available resources are in the stacks or deliverable to local branches. For instance, to cultivate your green thumb, you’ll have to make an in-person visit to The Shed, the garden tool lending library at the Central Library (1015 N. Quincy St.). For a decade, Arlingtonians 18 and older have been borrowing hand trowels, hedge shears, rakes, hoses, ladders, saws and more during gardening season. This year, The Shed will be open March 26-Oct. 5.
In 2023, the most borrowed gardening tool was a telescoping tree pruner, with more than 30 checkouts. Other sought-after items include a dandelion weeder and reel mower, Rothschild says. Borrowers can’t put holds on gardening tools, but they may keep them for seven days and renew them once.
Other resources are available for on-site use. The Central Library also houses sewing machines (including a specialized serger sewing machine); 3D scanners; precision cutting machines for fabric, cardstock and vinyl; and laser cutters for heavy-duty materials such as wood and leather. These machines are housed on the second floor of The Shop, an on-site makerspace, and can’t be checked out.
Don’t worry if you’ve never used one before. The library can help with that, too. “They do a lot of programs and training, as well as just having open lab time for you to come in and work on your own projects,” Rothschild says. “People are there to help. Depending on how busy it is, you can get a lot of help, or they’ll direct you to a class.”
She recommends reserving a time slot during open labs because demand can be high for some machines, such as A/V digitization equipment that converts VHS tapes and vinyl records to digital files. The library requires certifications to use some machines, such as the laser cutter, so it also provides free certification classes.
“We will certify you, but we just ask that you take that class, so you know how to use it safely,” Rothschild says.
The Shop also has 3D printers, but only library staff can run them. Patrons can submit a request to have their design printed for 5 cents per gram, or make an appointment to get help with a project.
Another onsite service is the Teleconnect Space at the Columbia Pike Library branch (816 S. Walter Reed Drive), which opened in 2020 to give patrons a private place to conduct telehealth appointments, job interviews and other meetings.
Other resources are available digitally. Learn a new language for free with your library card through Mango Languages. Comparison shop using Consumer Reports or Consumers’ CHECKBOOK for local reviews. You can even stream a movie through Kanopy, a service the library added last April.
To make sure the library offers things people want, librarians monitor the collections on an ongoing basis using multiple metrics, including checkout rates and feedback. “We look at long-term trends…like is interest growing? Is it staying the same? Is it dying?” Rothschild says. “It’s a lot of data and different metrics that we look at, put it together to see an overall picture and look to see how the different parts of the collection are interacting with each other.”
If something you want isn’t part of the collection, she adds, fill out a materials request form. “One of the ways that we know about community interest is when [people] ask,” she says. There is no guarantee that the library can fulfill every request, but communicating is the first step. “This is a balance between availability, community need, community interest, and also what we are able to actually do and get.”
To learn more about what’s available, subscribe to library newsletters, follow the library on social media (Facebook, Instagram and X) and check the website.