The start of the new school year means new programs across MTSU, and the James E. Walker Library kick-started its “Library of Things” as one of its many services available for students.
The Library of Things is a new resource focused on meeting students’ needs and fostering their interests. The library’s reserve, once reserved solely for academic resources, has evolved to include non-traditional items. From umbrellas to metal detectors, the new items on reserve are meant to aid a wide variety of students.
“There are short-term loans for things like board games, puzzles, and even sewing machines,” Jordan Neelson, head of Walker Library’s Access Services, said. “… All sorts of things that we recognize that students may need or may want, but don’t necessarily have access to.”
Every item in the “Library of Things” is available for free check-out to MTSU students. With this new resource, students can save money on hobbies, such as sewing, that would otherwise be a significant expense.
The Library of Things is not a service exclusive to the Walker Library, but it was the first academic library in Middle Tennessee to implement the nationwide program.
“There’s an overlap with the connections in public and academic,” Wendy Jones, Walker Library Access Service Coordinator, said. “I feel like it’s all relevant. A lot of these items are for your dorm or your home.”
The Library of Things has been in the making all summer, but it is just one part of the library’s overall push to support students in relevant and non-traditional ways.
“We want to support students in a broader way than we have traditionally…” Neelson said. “There’s so much more to a student than the academic side, so we recognize that and want to support the students in all the places that we can.”
The wants and needs of students are always evolving, and the Library of Things evolves as well. Polling was done among student workers to gauge interest in the kinds of items the library supplies. The Library of Things stock is currently sitting at 27 total items, but Neelson and Jones have plans to expand that number to adapt to changing interests.
“In the process of working with students, and kind of doing these events, we’ve really heard from them that this makes them feel more in place here at MTSU,” Neelson said.
Explore the Library of Things collection.
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