COMSTOCK PARK, Mich. — When you think of a library, what comes to mind?
Books? Duh. Historical texts? Maybe. Publicly accessible computers? Most likely.
Well, the Kent District Library sees your basic expectations and raises you with a collection that takes you beyond the books.
Literally.
KDL has what they call the Beyond Books Collection. It's filled with several items you would never expect to be able to check out from a library. It includes anything from Nintendo Switch consoles to camping gear to bikes during the summer, tire inflators, portable projectors and so much more.
"We have about 25 different items in the collection and multiple copies of each of those," said Johanna Boyle, KDL's Collection Development librarian. "It could be anything. So we kind of need to have some guidelines about what it cannot be.”
Some of those guidelines include items that could injure people, "like a table saw," Boyle said, or items people wouldn't need on a continuous basis, like "a smoke detector."
The best part about this collection is also its only downside — it's incredibly popular!
Several items are booked out by dozens of people days and weeks in advance.
"These items are popular, and it can be a little bit of a wait to get them," Boyle admitted. "When I get my new budget for the year, I have to decide: 'Do I get more items that we already have because people are waiting for them? Or do I get brand-new items that people might be interested in? It's always kind of a balancing act."
If you're interested in checking out anything from the collection, Boyle said you must be at least 18 years old and a KDL cardholder in good standing (no fines or missing/lost items).