Musical Instrument Lending Library Hits All the Right Notes

Grapevine Public Library Offers Instruments and Free Music Lessons

By Michele Chan Santos

Whether you’ve always wanted to learn to play the electric guitar, banjo, mandolin or even the harp, if you’re a Grapevine resident who is 18 or over and in good standing at the library, you can now check out an instrument for free from the Grapevine Public Library.

Launched at the beginning of February, the Musical Instrument Lending Library offers patrons a three-week borrowing period for each of 17 musical instruments (the checkout time can be renewed once if no one else is waiting for that instrument.) There are online courses through the library which can teach you to play, as well as in-person classes (they’ve started with ukelele lessons and hope to add additional music classes this summer.) Currently patrons can select from an acoustic guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, a variety of percussion instruments, and a number of other items including singing bowls.

The library also offers access to online lessons for many of the instruments through LinkedIn Learning, Udemy, and Kanopy; and patrons can borrow many print and DVD resources as well.

“The most rewarding part is to get equipment that’s expensive into the hands of kids or other people who can’t afford it – the satisfaction that comes with knowing that kids can try some things they otherwise wouldn’t be able to try,” said Chad Hetterley, Assistant Library Director at Grapevine PL.

The instrument lending library has quickly become popular; in only a few weeks, more threefourths of the instruments have been checked out and the circulation gets calls about the instruments every day, he said.

Hetterley spearheaded the effort to create a musical lending library after the library received a large donation of instructional music books, DVDs and other materials. He was also inspired by attending a TLA Annual Conference session by the Fort Worth Public Library about their instrument lending library.

Said Hetterley, “I’m a musician myself, I’m very passionate about it. My son is taking music lessons at the School of Rock and loving that. A lot of the kids we’ve met don’t have their own instruments, they take guitar lessons and they have to borrow instruments to practice at home. I wanted to get instruments into the hands of these kids. There has been so much cutting of funds to the arts that music education has taken a backseat. Some of the instruments you can get from school, but it’s hard to find a place to try the guitar or a mandolin.”

When Hetterley heard about the CAP (Community Advancement Packages) grants available through the Texas State Library and Archives Commission, he jumped at the chance to fund an instrument lending library.

Clara Chin tries out a singing bowl.

Alfonso Manzanera teaches a ukelele class to library patrons.

Grapevine PL applied for two grants for $5,000 each and received them in April 2022. With the grant funding, “we were able to purchase three electric guitars, a bass guitar, digital drum kit, two mini-keyboards, microphone and mike stands, and a PA system. Also a Mac studio computer with professional editing software.”

Borrower Agreement

Before checking out any of the instruments, the borrower must sign an agreement that essentially says that person is liable for any damage or loss of the instrument. About half the checkouts so far have been for a child who wants to try playing; a parent or guardian must sign the agreement before the instrument is loaned out. So far, the library hasn’t had any instruments go missing; most of the instruments “are not that much more expensive than the STEM kits or Wi-Fi hotspots that we also check out,” Hetterley explained.

Instrument Maintenance And Expanding The Collection

Grapevine PL recently hired a part-time library assistant, Alfonso Manzanera, who teaches music at a local elementary school. Manzanera teaches a ukelele class to library patrons and is also responsible for keeping the instruments in good maintenance. Since the Musical Instrument Lending Library opened, many people in the community have called about donating violins, cellos, guitars and other instruments that are sitting unused in their homes. Hetterley said he is working on guidelines for instrument donations. The library won’t accept wind instruments, for example, because of hygiene issues; and they want to make sure the instruments they do accept are in good condition.

Rusty Pafford tries out a mandolin.

New Music Studio

Later this fall Grapevine PL plans to unveil its brand-new music, video and podcasting studio, also funded by the CAP grants. The studio is equipped with a variety of software including Ableton Live and Final Cut Pro, as well as a 12-channel mixer, pro microphone, podcasting studio kit and a digital drum kit. “We’re also hoping to purchase additional instruments for the studio and offer programming to go along with it,” Hetterley said.

Setting Up An Instrument Lending Program At Your Library

“The best advice is don’t rush into it,” Hetterley said. “It takes a lot of planning. We worked on it for nine months before we launched it, because there are so many things to consider about how to set it up in the library system, how are you going to maintain the instruments, how are you going to circulate them, who are we going to limit the checkouts to.” The library purchased protective padded cases for all the instruments, as well as guitar picks, instrument tuners and other supplies. Library cataloguers had to learn how other libraries had cataloged their instruments. Hetterley said he’s happy to answer questions about the instrument lending library; you can contact him via email at chetterley@grapevinetexas.gov.

Lifelong Learning

Recently, a senior citizen came in and asked about the keyboards. She plays the piano “and was so excited to check out a keyboard that she could take home and play,” Hetterley said. “To get these instruments in the hands of people, for them to get satisfaction from the music – that’s really what it’s all about.”