My library

More than 2,000 unique items available in the Library of Things

The next time you stop by the Arlington Heights Memorial Library, use your library card to check out a book, a movie, or.... a fabric steamer, a bike tool kit or a ukulele? You heard that right –the Library of Things collection contains more than 2,000 unique items to check out.

Whether you want to explore new skills—or simply try something before you buy it—the Library of Things has something for you.

“One of the great things about the Library of Things is it allows you to try things out. [For example,] we recently added a Folding Cane with a Seat – if you think a device like this could help you, you can try before you buy one of your own,” said Collection Supervisor Cyndi Hamann. “There’s so many items that you might only need occasionally – paper shredder, fabric steamer, shoe stretcher, etc. or items that you might want to try to see if you like them, like a banjo.”

The Library of Things collection is filled with many items you wouldn’t expect to find at a library and yet, you can.

“Target: Rats is a board game we added recently that I think is a hilarious and a hidden gem. It’s a board game where you play as a rat in Chicago trying to survive and take over,” Hamann said.

“Some of the other ‘hidden gems’ are probably our household monitors – we have so many testers to track voltage, wattage and more!”