When I was a child, our local library had an unusually robust “library of things” they kept in the basement. It worked just like a library, lending out to library patrons for a set period of time, but instead focused on all sorts of stuff. I remember kitchen appliances, gadgets, and accessories of every possible kind, tools from simple hand tools to 2-ton jacks and even a single engine hoist that could be lent out with a return deposit. They had yard maintenance and gardening tools and implements, toys and gaming consoles, scientific instruments (I was often on the waiting list for one of the two telescopes, well during the summer anyway. No one seemed to want them during the winter, so I had pretty much free reign then.), and musical instruments of all sorts, including a sound board and speaker system that was often booked out for months for weddings on a budget. They also had a pretty respectable set of folding chairs and tables they kept in a garage off-site that were often highly sought after for similar reasons. They also had a killer collection of board games and ttrpg game books. It was one of several things that made the library a very important place to me growing up.
I haven’t seen anything like it since (Although, I’ve encountered other cool things, like open-access 3D-Printers or book clubs paired with cooking classes), but I’ve heard of it being a thing in other libraries. Sadly, the last time I visited my hometown’s library, not only had they liquidated their entire “library of things,” but they were no longer a public library, as voters had chosen not to continue the millage funding them. Patrons must now pay an annual fee to borrow items from their collection, making them a privatized library.
What kind of community doesn’t vote to support their only public library? 