A diamond showing items from the library of things, including pliers, a guitar and more.
Library of Things Collection
Did you know the Barberton Public Library loans more than books, movies, magazines, and music? Our Library of Things Collection is now ready to be checked out!

The Library of Things is a collection of non-traditional materials including equipment, gadgets, tools, games, kits, electronics, and more — all available to check out for free with a library card. Need something for a one-time project or want to try before you buy? Explore the collection and discover your next new Thing to borrow!

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September 2017 - Revenge of the Star Survivors by Michael Merschel

“Mayday…Mayday …
This is a Priority One distress call.
Can anyone hear me?
Anyone?
 
My situation is desperate.  I have crash-landed on an inhospitable world.  Communication with my commanders has broken down.  My shields have been compromised.  I am critically short on vital supplies.  I am isolated.  Adrift.  Cold.
Lonely.”

October 2017 - Hoodoo by Ronald Smith

I walked through the graveyard on my tiptoes, trying not to step on the graves.  If you stepped on a grave, people said, the dead could steal your soul.  I could barely see, and the only light came from the moon, spreading a glow through the long-beard trees.
            Something kept tickling my face, like a spider’s web.  I brushed it away, but that didn’t do any good.  It was stuck there, creeping across my skin.

November 2017 - Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling

“When I was little, a kid pointed at me on the playground and shouted, ‘Her arms fell off!’ then ran away screaming in terror to his mom, who had to cuddle him on her lap and rub his head for like ten minutes to get him to calm down.  I think, up until then, I hadn’t thought about the idea that my arms must have actually fallen off at some point in my life.  I had never really thought about not having arms at all.” pg. 1 Aven Green Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling

May 2018 - Night Witches by Kathryn Lasky

Night Witches by Kathryn Lasky“ ‘Noch’ ved’m,’ I whisper to myself as I crouch in the rubble of our apartment building and watch the searchlights scraping the night, looking for those tiny planes, the U-2 trainers.  Tatyana and I had both learned to fly these light biplanes, their four wings made of wood and canvas.  Open cockpit.  No parachutes.  In these fragile machines the women of the 588th Regiment harass the Ger