Hotspots, telescopes and Santa suits: How you can borrow these and more from the library?

Emilia Cardona, The Gardner News
Updated ·4 min read

Public libraries aren't just places to check out books; they are places filled with a wide range of resources for local residents to borrow anytime they need.

Libraries have many items to offer residents, from telescopes to hotspots, cooking essentials, and more. The Beals Memorial Library in Winchedon and the Levi Heywood's Memorial Library in Gardner have items beyond the traditional ones library card holders can check out.

Other local libraries with a Library of Things are the Hubbardston Public Library in Hubbardston and the Forbush Memorial Library in Westminster. All four of these libraries display the catalog for the Library of Things on their websites.

Senior Library Technician Alexis Chanthachack said the hiking pack and the sensory to-go bag, which the Beals Memorial Library lends out, would not be possible if it weren't for help from local nonprofits or direct donations from patrons.
Senior Library Technician Alexis Chanthachack said the hiking pack and the sensory to-go bag, which the Beals Memorial Library lends out, would not be possible if it weren't for help from local nonprofits or direct donations from patrons.

Borrow a Santa suit from the Beals Library

The Beals Library has 26 unique items for any cardholder to borrow. All items in the library of things can be checked out for three weeks at a time by a cardholder. Alexis Chanthachack, the senior library technician, said items in the Library of Things cannot be reserved through the online catalog.

  • A Santa costume: only available for a limited time, between October and January and in July for Christmas in July-themed events.

  • A bread maker, along with other baking equipment.

  • A pair of snowshoes

  • Yard games: a Slip & Slide, cornhole, Yardzee, and giant Jenga.

  • Eight hiking backpacks

  • Six sensory to-go bags

  • A sewing machine

  • A video projector

  • A telescope

  • Two hotspots

At Beals Memorial Library in Winchendon, library cardholders have the opportunity to borrow not just reading materials but all kinds of items from snowshoes to a Breadmaker. Right now, the library's snowshoes are available to be checked out for three weeks.
At Beals Memorial Library in Winchendon, library cardholders have the opportunity to borrow not just reading materials but all kinds of items from snowshoes to a Breadmaker. Right now, the library's snowshoes are available to be checked out for three weeks.

Certain items like the telescope, hot spots, or video projector come with instructions that patrons need to read before checking the items out, Chanthachack said. She said patrons have donated the majority of the items in their library of things.

There are only two hot spots at the library, and they can be checked out for only two weeks at a time. Chanthachack said the reason for the short time is because the hot spots are the most demanded item. She said the yard games are the most in-demand items during the summer, especially the Slip & Slide.

Sensory-friendly bags

Last June, the library staff at Beals Library was awarded a grant from the American Library Association (ALA) that focuses on distributing funds to libraries in rural communities so those libraries can create a more accessible environment for all residents. The library received $10,000 from the ALA's accessible rural communities initiative grant.

Chanthachack said they purchased materials to make the six sensory to-go bags with the money and funded several accessible and sensory-friendly events this year. She said the sensory bags have been a resource used by many local teachers and parents with neurodivergent children.

"When a teacher knows they are doing a field trip or an event and they have a neurodivergent stu,dent they can come and check these bags out," she said. "We at the library also use these bags when we have events because it's important to be accessible for all patrons."

The six sensory to-go-bags that the Beal Library offers to cardholders have all the tools that a neurodivergent adult or child would need, from noise-canceling headphones to sunglasses, fidget toys, and communication cards.
The six sensory to-go-bags that the Beal Library offers to cardholders have all the tools that a neurodivergent adult or child would need, from noise-canceling headphones to sunglasses, fidget toys, and communication cards.

Borrow art and a telescope from Gardner's library

Stephanie Young is the new library director in Gardner, and she officially started her role on Tuesday, Jan. 2. She said she knows a lot of people don't know about the various programs, resources and items offered by the library that aren't related to books or reading materials.

The Gardner library has a large art collection of 40 prints of famous and popular paintings and drawings. Any Gardner Library cardholder can borrow any of the pieces from the art collection to display in their homes for up to six weeks. After three weeks, the borrower must renew to keep the piece for another three weeks.

New Library Director Stephanie Young said the telescope was donated to the library by Kevin and Nancy Boucher but the Aldrich Astronomical Society helps the staff with maintenance of the telescope.
New Library Director Stephanie Young said the telescope was donated to the library by Kevin and Nancy Boucher but the Aldrich Astronomical Society helps the staff with maintenance of the telescope.

Young said local realtors pick up art to stage the homes they are showcasing, but she encourages others to borrow these pieces to change the look of their homes for free.

In addition to the art, the library allows cardholders to check out a telescope donated by Kevin and Nancy Boucher. Young said before people can check out the telescope, they need to watch a quick tutorial video on how to use it properly. The telescope is allowed to be checked out for one week at a time, and it cannot be renewed for another week.

The Levi Heywood Memorial Library has a large art collection open to any library cardholder to check out pieces for three weeks at a time and cardholders can renew their borrowed art for another three weeks.
The Levi Heywood Memorial Library has a large art collection open to any library cardholder to check out pieces for three weeks at a time and cardholders can renew their borrowed art for another three weeks.

Young said she hopes to lead a survey of what resources residents in Gardner want in the coming months as her first project. She said she hopes to provide other resources for residents, like hot spots, and fund more programs as well.

This article originally appeared on Gardner News: Heywood Library in Gardner, Beals in Winchendon lend out more than books