Try New Things & Save Money: Borrow from the Library of Things Collection
Posted on January 7, 2026 at 6:00 am
By Gwendolyn Haley
The full Library of Things collection is now available for reservations and borrowing.
Thank you for your patience while we completed maintenance on the collection and moved it to the new reservation system: LendingKey. The updated system should seem familiar to many: The platform is the same as the Museum and Cultural Pass reservations with a similar look and booking process.
SCLD’s Library of Things is a growing collection of practical, creative, and educational items that library customers can borrow. New items are added throughout the year, so the collection continues to evolve based on community interests and needs. It’s a great way to use items that you may only need every once in a while, or you want to try before you buy.
Current offerings from the LendingKey catalog include tools and technology, such as cordless drills, sewing machines, Cricut machines, DSLR cameras, video cameras, projectors, microphones, and external hard drives.
There are also hands-on learning kits, comprising Smithsonian Human Origins replica skulls, Snap Circuits classroom kits, tubs of LEGOs, and a Family Construction Zone blocks kit.
For hobbies and recreation, you can reserve and borrow telescopes, snowshoes, pickleball sets, ukuleles, birding backpacks, sunoculars, and even an inflatable movie screen.
The collection also features specialty items, for example Project Memory digital transfer equipment, an upholstery repair kit, and a bottle cutter kit, as well as small kitchen appliances including a food dehydrator and a sous vide immersion circulator.
Items in the collection that can be checked out from SCLD’s main catalog include book bags, STEM kits, blood pressure monitors, tabletop games, and more. These items usually have a 28-day checkout period and can be picked up at any SCLD location.
To borrow things from the LendingKey catalog, you reserve items online for a specific 7-day period and pick them up at the specified library location selected when making the reservation. When your reservation begins, items can be picked up via curbside service or at the service desk. You will need to bring your library card and a valid photo ID when checking out these items.
Items from the LendingKey catalog must be checked out on the starting day of reservation or the reservation may be canceled. A maximum of three items from this collection may be checked out at one time.
Borrowing is available to library customers who are 18 and older and have a valid, in-district SCLD library card in good standing with no outstanding fees over $25.
Checkouts from the Library of Things LendingKey catalog are not renewable, and cardholders are responsible for returning items on time and in good condition. Charges may apply for lost or damaged items.
Gwendolyn Haley is a Public Services Manager with Spokane County Library District. It’s a big job that on any given day might include robots, concerts, new gadgets and things, special events, and everything in between. She has a passion for learning new things and loves to help people ignite their curiosity and discover new passions.
Tags: adults, Library of Things
