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Library of Things

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The Library of Things is a collection of unexpected items you can borrow from the library! Curious about a new craft or hobby? Want to test out a Cricut machine before committing? Feeling nostalgic for some analog media watching? We’ve got you covered.

From museum passes and induction cooktops to Book Club in a Bag kits, cordless drills, ukuleles, sewing machines, and themed book kits for kids, Library of Things helps you explore and experiment, without the commitment of buying.

Discover your favorite Thing!

Library of Things Catalog

A Few Details

Most items check out for three weeks, although there are some items that check out for one week. Be sure to confirm this information when you pick up your item.
Library of Things items and kits must be returned directly to a staff person. Many of them, especially Community Passes and large items, should be returned to the Library Location that they were picked up at. Please do not use the outdoor Book Drops to return your Library of Things items as they could be damaged.
Users of the Library of Things are responsible to pay charges or fees for damage or loss.

Coming Soon: Tool Library!

Get ready for an exciting addition to the Library of Things: a Tool Library! While a selection of tools is already available to borrow, we’re building a larger collection designed to help you tackle home projects, repairs, and creative ideas. Stay Tuned!

The Tool Library is made possible in part thanks to City of Santa Barbara Sustainability & Resilience Department.

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Donations

Are you interested in donating to our Library of Things Collection? Fill out this form with your item details, and we will check if it fits our needs. While we appreciate your interest, we are not able to accept every potential donation. We may decline items that are too large, have many small pieces, are hard to clean, require frequent replacements, are expensive to maintain, are deemed unsafe for general use, or do not fit within our Collection Development Policy.

Library of Things Donation Form

Borrowing Policy

Library of Things is made up of items meant to be used in hands on STEAM learning. Discover a new skill, explore a concept, and engage in learning.

Library of Things items check out for 3 weeks subject to normal renewal periods. Patrons are responsible for damaged or lost items. This includes repair or replacement costs. By checking out and taking possession of any item in the Library of Things collection, the patron agrees to this policy, as follows: The Library of Things equipment may be used only for lawful purposes. Patrons are prohibited from using the equipment to create material that is:

a) Prohibited by local, state or federal law.

b) Unsafe, harmful, dangerous or poses an immediate threat to the well-being of self or others (such use may violate the terms of use of the manufacturer).

c) In violation of another’s intellectual property rights. For example, the equipment may not be used to reproduce material that is subject to copyright, patent, or trademark protection.

d) Patrons shall not modify the Maker Kit hardware or software (except open source), or install malware onto the equipment.

e) The Library is not responsible for any damage to a patron’s personal materials or files, or for any manufacturing defects.

f) Any work saved on Library equipment will be deleted and cannot be recovered. Patrons must save their files on an external storage device.

g) The Library is not responsible for any injuries and/or other losses caused by use of Library of Things equipment.

h) The Library reserves the right to deny access to Library of Things equipment if a patron violates any part of the Library of Things Policy, Library Rules of Conduct, or misuses the equipment as determined by the Library staff.

i) Users of Library of Things are responsible to pay charges or fees for damage or loss, which may be valued and billed to the User's Santa Barbara Public Library account.

j) By checking out and taking possession of any item in the Library of Things, the patron is certifying that s/he is capable of using that item in a safe and proper manner.

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