RETOOLED

Want to shred a doc? Or try out a telescope? Check out Dare County’s Library of Things.

The Kill Devil Hills Library, located at 400 Mustian Street in Kill Devil Hills, hosts a well-attended seed swap in conjunction with the Dare County Extension Master Gardeners on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025. (Photo by Corinne Saunders)

By Corinne Saunders

Edited by Matt Walker

Editor’s Note: A version of this article originally appeared in the spring issue (Issue 14.1) of Outer Banks Milepost, currently on newsstands; find a list of distribution points by clicking here: https://www.outerbanksmilepost.com/outposts/.

“The Metal Detector.” “The Memory Kit.” “The Seed Library.” Sounds like series of modern-day whodunnits, ready-made for an easy beach read. But in today’s Dare County Library, they are actual items being offered in the “Library of Things,” which allows residents to borrow real-life tools and kits that offer tangible benefits, from planting a garden to watching a movie to exploring the stars.

“It helps our patrons to fill a need,” says Dare County Librarian Meaghan Leenaarts Beasley. “To test out an item that maybe they want to try themselves, or to save the expense of an item that they can’t necessarily afford or want to spend the money on.”

It’s all part of a “meeting community needs” ethos that’s been ingrained in Dare County Library’s DNA since day one.

In 1935, they started by offering 14 donated books in a small room above a Manteo store. By the ‘40s, they’d added a thousand more volumes, enough to send cases of books called “traveling libraries” to families on the coast. The ‘50s saw four-wheel-drive book mobiles hopping ferries to Hatteras, while the ‘90s built three branches in Manteo, Kill Devil Hills and Hatteras, so residents could borrow a book or study in peace. And in the 2010s, “e-books” started letting folks check out books from the comfort of home.

In every case, the goal was to keep up with a growing community and modern times. So, when they learned that other libraries were lending out useful items in addition to books, they were quick to borrow the concept.

“The most famous one started in the Berkeley (California) Public Library,” Leenaarts Beasley says. It’s a Tool Lending Library.

“So if they couldn’t afford a new lawnmower, or they just needed a weed eater for a project,” Leenaarts Beasley says that Berkeley patrons had a place to turn. “And that kind of became the example.”

Ironically, the idea first germinated here in 2022 with a seed library, which allows residents to give gardening a try by checking out packets of future plants, from herbs and vegetables to annuals and perennials.

“It’s for all ages,” says Seed Library Coordinator Rebecca Flagge, recalling a little boy who checked out a bunch last summer. “His mom said, ‘We grew so much zucchini that we were just, like, throwing it at everybody who passed our house.’”

Some seed library offerings are commercially purchased; others are grown and donated by local gardeners. Some will even soon be available from plants Flagge grew on the library grounds: Marigolds, zinnias and yellow peppers.

Since residents can’t return borrowed seeds, that collection relies on the full circle of community generosity; as some people check out seeds, others bring in donations.

“It has been incredibly popular,” Leenaarts Beasley says. “This past year, we had over 9,000 seed packets checked out. And now the donations of seeds are just coming back in, exponentially.”

The seed library has further sprouted events such as a speaker series and seed exchanges with the master gardeners, Leenaarts Beasley says.

“I think that’s something that both the library and the Extension are excited about expanding on,” says Dare County Extension Master Gardener Volunteer Doni Zahn-Heule.

From there, the idea grew to include a wide range of items that patrons 18 and older can borrow and bring back.

Got sensitive documents to destroy? Check out a paper shredder. Lost a piece of precious jewelry? Borrow a metal detector. (Just don’t use it on Cape Hatteras National Seashore beaches; it’s illegal.)

There’s even a host of items that help improve the whole community.

Last year, a training session with the Outer Banks Dementia Friendly Coalition led to the purchase of eight memory kits, so that impacted families can strengthen minds at home. And a recent partnership Surfrider Foundation’s Outer Banks Chapter lets folks check out beach cleanup kits, complete with buckets, grabbers, gloves, trash bags and a card to log what trash they’ve collected. Library staff input the data online.

And there’s one “citizen science” addition they’re particularly excited about: the new Library Telescope Program, that lets would-be astronomers each check out telescopes with instructions, a kit of astronomy books, a headlamp, binoculars and a sky map.

“It’s an international program in which public libraries partner with local astronomy clubs,” Leenaarts Beasley explains. “They purchase a starter telescope, and you offer programs where folks come to the library and we do a session.”

The programs teach patrons how to find stars, how to use the telescope and then practice outdoors. There are even monthly events with the local astronomy club and with Jockey’s Ridge State Park rangers.

“It’s been a really incredible thing,” she says.

Other cool learning opportunities include an “ecoEXPLORE backpack” to help kids K-8 fall in love with the outdoors, while the “Book Club in a Bag” can kickstart literary debates for up to a dozen word nerds.

Then there’s all the everyday items that just make life a little easier. Got a long road trip ahead? Borrow a portable DVD player. Laptop lacks a CD/DVD slot? Give their external drive a run.

“Those were ideas the staff had of practical items that were small and portable,” she adds. “Space being an issue for us, we’re trying to see…what sticks? What hits the wall and stays?”

Want to check something out? Visit the website see what’s available, then call your local branch to reserve an item. (One item at a time.) Upon pickup, be ready to show your card and ID, undergo get a quick tutorial when necessary and sign a few docs. Then make sure you bring it back during regular hours.

“You can’t return it to a dropbox,” Leenaarts Beasley notes.

She also encourages community members to suggest future additions. To date, ideas have

ranged from the practical — children’s STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) kits, portable audiobook players and WiFi hotspots — to the slightly more unusual.

“A commissioner came to me and said, ‘What about adding wedding dresses? Because it’s such a beach destination.’ That’s a lovely idea, but I don’t know where I would put those and keep it, clean those and maintain them,” she says. “My staff…saw a library in Portland [Oregon] that has ghost-hunting kits in their library of things. So they’re coming at me now like, ‘Can we do this now, too?’”

But aside from storage space and budget constraints, there are no limits to what’s next.

“The possibilities are endless,” she says. “I can’t wait to see where we go with it.”

Curious to see what’s available? Visit www.darenc.gov/departments/libraries/library-of-things.

The Kill Devil Hills Library, located at 400 Mustian Street in Kill Devil Hills, hosts a well-attended seed swap in conjunction with the Dare County Extension Master Gardeners on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025. (Photo by Corinne Saunders)

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