Sunnyvale trustees hear expansion plans, funding risks and logistics for Library of Things

Shauna Sudankley, the library's adult services supervising librarian, gave the Board of Library Trustees an overview of Sunnyvale's Library of Things at the June 2 meeting, describing the collection, partnerships, circulation patterns and planned growth.

Sudankley told trustees the program began with a pilot of induction cooktops and Wi'Fi hotspots and has since grown to a collection she described as 'one of my favorite things about the library.' She said the collection now contains 220 unique item types and 571 total items (including multiples such as park passes and hotspots), with top-circulating items for adults being California State Parks passes, Wi'Fi hotspots and Chromebooks.

The program's advocates told trustees it advances several city priorities: increasing access to resources, supporting sustainability by sharing rarely used items, encouraging creativity and lifelong learning, and connecting people to community services and classes.

Sudankley outlined what patrons can borrow: tool and auto-repair kits, sewing machines and sergers, 3D pens and film scanners, hotspots and Chromebooks, board and large-group games, camping gear and birding kits, park passes, and a growing children's library-of-things that launched in December. Items such as the automobile repair kit circulate for three weeks, she said. She also described programs tied to the collection, from telescope viewings with a SETI liaison to summer 'Level Up' events that pair board games with the library's reading program.

How the collection started and how it is funded

Sudankley said the initial pilot included 15 induction cooktops provided in March 2021 by the city's Environmental Services Division (ESD). The library later added hotspots and…