Did you know there are some public libraries that loan out snowshoes? And cement mixers? And Santa suits? This episode, we try to calculate what your public library is worth, and ask how you can give back to support public libraries.
Want to learn more about the topics brought up in this episode? Check out the following links:
- Stand up for libraries and help us avoid city budget cuts!
- Calculate how much your library usage is worth.
- Want to check out a telescope? Or a board game? Browse our library of things at BPL.
- Check out tools in Berkeley, CA, snow shoes in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Santa suits in Cleveland, Mississippi, or a human from the Human Library! Thanks to ALA's library of things map for pointing us to some of these gems.
Episode Transcript
Virginia Marshall Hey, Adwoa!
Adwoa Adusei Hey, Virginia.
Virginia Marshall So I was just looking at my library savings calculator …
Adwoa Adusei Wait, the library has a calculator to help you save for like future financial things?
Virginia Marshall No! Actually, maybe ... I don't know. Maybe they do. But what I'm talking about is this really cool tool — if you go to to BKLYN Library [dot] org [slash] library [dash] use [dash] calculator …
Adwoa Adusei Okay … [laughs]
Virginia Marshall And you can input like how many books you've read, whether you've attend library programs or listen to audiobooks … and it tells you how much money you save by like not buying those things. And guess how much I saved by using the library this year?
Adwoa Adusei Um, two hundred dollars?
Virginia Marshall No. $1,162 dollars.
Adwoa Adusei Oh wow, that's much bigger. [Laughs]
Virginia Marshall Yeah, know! Incredible. So, well, here's why. I'm like a really big audiobook reader. I probably read 40 books a year on my Libby app. And I’ll check out like 10 e-books and physical books per year … so that’s like ten to twenty dollars per book, depending on the format. And then I use our databases like JSTOR for research, like actually for this podcast ... and I also attend a few events. So, it really adds up!
Adwoa Adusei Oh man, I want to try it … So let's pull that up really quickly. Okay, so I see if you put in the meeting room hours that you used, public computer hours that you used, reference assistance ... that's what I do all day!
Virginia Marshall Your time is worth money!
Adwoa Adusei Okay. I'm definitely going to check this out later. Thank you.
Virginia Marshall And there's categories of things that we loan out that aren't even on this calculator yet. You know we have telescopes and board games you can check out at the library, and now we have vinyl records ...
(Gregg Richards, Brooklyn Public Library)
Adwoa Adusei And that’s just at BPL. When you think about it, across the country, there are really amazing libraries of things popping up at different public libraries.
Virginia Marshall Yes, and thank you, Adwoa, that's a great segue. Because we today want to revisit a very short episode we produced about just this: the libraries of things.
Adwoa Adusei That was my first Borrowed appearance, actually! All the way back in Season Two.
Virginia Marshall Um, we've come a long way. And listeners will get to hear our co-host emeritus — the famous Krissa Corbett Cavouras. You're listening to Borrowed: Stories that start at the library.
Dan Beringhele The number one circulating item in the Berkeley Public Library system is a string trimmer, or weed wacker.
Adwoa Adusei Dan Beringhele is the supervising librarian at the Tarea Hall Pittman South branch in Berkeley, California. That branch is the home to one of the nation’s oldest continually-running tool libraries. It’s in its 40th year.
Dan Beringhele We have some larger tools like table saws and cement mixers, and we’ve just started collecting smart phone and tablet repair kits, as well as bike tools.
Krissa Corbett Cavouras You might be surprised that you can check out a book and a hammer from the same place. But Dan says that having tools at the library makes a lot of sense.
Dan Beringhele Libraries are all about getting people the tools they need to get things done.
Adam Broner Somebody did a demographic survey of us and found we most accurately reflect the entire spectrum of Berkeley.
Krissa Corbett Cavouras That last voice is Adam Broner. He’s been working at the tool library for the past 28 years.
Adam Broner Apparently, the courage to try something new is outside of any other demographic. [Laughs]
Adwoa Adusei And if you’re in the Canadian province of New Brunswick and you want to try something new, you might want to visit Fredericton Public Library.
Julia Stewart My name’s Julia Stewart and I’m the library director at Fredericton Public Library in Fredericton, New Brunswick. So our weather here in New Brunswick is very similar to Maine. So, we have long, cold winters with lots of snow, and getting out and embracing that cold is really part of the culture, the fabric here, for sure. So, snow shoes were sort of a no brainer.
Adwoa Adusei The library has 37 pairs of snow shoes you can borrow.
Julia Stewart And you run on them. I mean we get a ton of snow, right, so it makes walking in the woods much more enjoyable than trying to slug through it with your boots on.
Krissa Corbett Cavouras And if you’re looking for another winter activity—but one that doesn’t require snow at all—maybe stop by the Bolivar County Library in Cleveland, Mississippi to talk to Emily Bell, the library’s director.
Emily Bell I’ve never heard of another library that offers the Santa suits. And, honestly, because this is the first library that I worked at, it never dawned on me that it was a unique collection.
Krissa Corbett Cavouras That’s right… you can get a Santa suit from your local public library in Cleveland, Mississippi.
Adwoa Adusei Okay, Santa suits have got to be pretty unique. I have another one for you. This next library is international, and it’s been going on for nineteen years. And it’s an interesting one because the books actually come to the library voluntarily.
Ronni Abergel Because they realize they have something to offer and they want to be on our bookshelf.
Adwoa Adusei Founder Ronni Abergel is talking about the human library, an organization that connects people to other people. You just show up at a specific location, at a specific time, and “check out” a person for 30 minutes. You can ask them whatever you want.
Ronni Abergel Borrow the police officer and ask about police brutality or discrimination. Or borrow a Trump supporter and ask them what they’re thinking of. We need to sit down and talk, and start somewhere. And the rules are really simple. They’re like the rules of the public library, except in this library you don’t have to be quiet. In fact, you shouldn’t be very silent … but other than that, we expect you to bring the book back in the same condition, we expect you to bring it back on time, and you cant take it home.
Krissa Corbett Cavouras It’s a pretty fantastic idea, and the Human Library has partnered with communities across the world. Because we know that books can open our minds … but by asking people to be books, the hope is that a conversation can encourage us to be a little more open-minded about each other.
Virginia Marshall That was part of an episode we produced in 2019. And listeners, I checked, and all of those libraries are still loaning out human books, tools, snow shoes, and santa suits. Plus, the Bolivar County Public Library now lends mrs. claus suits, elf suits, and an easter bunny suit…
(Brooklyn Public Library)
Adwoa Adusei I mean, I have to admit: libraries are pretty amazing. Listeners, you know it. I know it. Virginia knows it. But I think we should say there’s a lot that happens at the library that isn’t about what you check out. and it can’t be quantified. The communities formed at the library are so important. I mean, I just started running a graphic novel book club exclusively for adults and we’ve developed this really amazing community of people in their twenties and thirties … I mean it's just been really amazing to see us all come together over this shared love of graphic novels, and talk about life.
Virginia Marshall That's so cool. Yeah, the library really is a refuge for so many different kinds of people. I teach a podcasting class at the Teen Tech Center at Kings Highway Library, and these young people are — first of all — so smart. And second — they’re at the library every single day after school, just hanging out or using the computers for homework or art projects. And, not to out them, but a lot of them don’t even have library cards. They’re coming to the branch to have a safe and fulfilling place to be. So, I mean, if you listen to this podcast, you know how libraries fill in so many gaps for so many different people.
Adwoa Adusei I mean, I just said it, but we are preaching to the choir here. You Borrowed listeners know what’s up. But we’re talking to you today because BPL is in a bit of tough position right now. City-wide, libraries are facing a potential $36 million dollar reduction in the city budget, which could mean fewer hours at branches, less programming and fewer books if these cuts go through. We can’t be there for all New Yorkers if our doors are closed.
Virginia Marshall Yeah. But we have the opportunity to do something about this. So, city leaders will be negotiating the budget throughout the spring, and will finalize it on June 30. Before then, we need you: our listeners and our patrons to stand up for libraries by sending letters to your elected officials, sharing your stories, and getting the word out about how important libraries are.
Adwoa Adusei If you live in Brooklyn, go to BKLYN library [dot] org [slash] stand up (all one word) and you can find a template for a letter to send to your representative. You can also calculate what you save by using the library with that fun tool Virginia and I used at the start of the episode … and encourage your fellow library users to do it, too!
Virginia Marshall If you use New York City’s other public library systems, there are links on that page Adwoa mentioned to advocate for NYPL and QPL … and, if you have the means, you can donate to help make up this budget cut. Again, that’s all at BKLYN Library [dot] org [slash] standup.
Adwoa Adusei If you don’t live in New York City — and we know many of our listeners don’t! — use this opportunity to find out how you can help your local library. We’ll put links to the library systems we mentioned on this episode, and our new Library of Things”web page at BPL, where you can check out vinyl records, telescopes, musical instruments, board games, and more ….
Virginia Marshall Adwoa, I just checked and we have over 500 board games that patrons can check out.
Adwoa Adusei That’s wild.
Virginia Marshall I know.
Adwoa Adusei Wait, where are we storing all of those?
Virginia Marshall Um at like six of our library branches. They're kind of home base for these board games. You can check all of that out on our website.
[Music]
Virginia Marshall Borrowed is brought to you by Brooklyn Public Library. This episode was written and hosted by me and Adwoa Adusei.
Adwoa Adusei Virginia Marshall produced the episode. Our Borrowed advisory team is Fritzi Bodenheimer, Robin Lester Kenton, and Damaris Olivo. Jennifer Proffitt and Ashley Gill run our social media. Our music composer is Billy Libby. Meryl Friedman designed our logo.
Virginia Marshall Until next time, let’s all stand up for libraries!