From Camden and Cherry Hill to Trenton and the Jersey Shore, what about life in New Jersey do you want WHYY News to cover? Let us know.
New Jerseyans, have you visited your local library recently? If not, you may be in for a surprise.
Many Garden State libraries are stocking up beyond books and videos and offering a variety of gizmos and gadgets on loan. Patrons can now borrow items such as power tools, snow shoes, various types of machinery and musical instruments.
“Libraries are so much more these days. We are places where exciting engagement happens, gathering, learning and discovery,” said Erica Bess, assistant director at the Princeton Public Library. “The world is your oyster when you come to the library and the library has so many things that will make you say wow.”
Bess said their Library of Things includes items such as adult nature explorer backpacks complete with compass, binoculars, a magnifying glass and field guides, emergency weather radios, CO2 monitor, kill-a-watt meters, a portable power station, DVD players, smart projectors and Chromecast kits.
For younger patrons, there are Little Thinker kits that include Toniebox digital audio players and a variety of Tonies, small figurines that when placed on top of the Toniebox player…
