#Maine - Want to try something new in the new year? Check out a ‘library of things’

#Libraries are expanding their offerings beyond books and audiotapes, broadening the potential pursuits of patrons.

by Sophie Burchell, January 2, 2026

CUMBERLAND — "If your New Year’s resolution is to try a new hobby — cooking more diverse recipes, taking up knitting or digging into gardening — but you are not yet ready to make a commitment for all of 2026, there is a shelf at the library for you.

"Stacked with items including a #MortarAndPestle, a #SpinningWheel and a #broadfork, the #LibraryOfThings at Cumberland’s #PrinceMemorialLibrary has objects for all types of pursuits ready for patrons to borrow like they would a book.

" 'The tortilla press is quite popular. A lot of people, they want to have a taco party or something, they want to try it out,' said Kelly Greenlee, community outreach librarian at Prince Memorial Library, which serves #CumberlandME and #NorthYarmouthME.

"Categories of 'things' include arts and craft supplies, science and technology devices, health and wellness equipment and home and garden tools. When acquiring items for this collection, librarians look for items that are typically only used once or twice a year, or things that someone would want to test out before they purchase it for themselves. The collection is intended to save library patrons time and money, as well as broaden their horizons — much like books.

" 'It’s designed to encourage people to have a #SharingEconomy, essentially,' said Greenlee. 'Libraries have always been about sharing resources, and it’s really just an extension of that.' "

Read more:
https://www.pressherald.com/2025/12/30/want-to-try-something-new-in-the-new-year-check-out-a-library-of-things/

Archived version:
https://archive.md/cWBiQ

#SolarPunkSunday #LibrariesRule #MaineLibraries #LibrariesOfThings #BorrowDontBuy

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Photos for sale

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Part 0. Preamble. Part 1. A prosodic Preface. For those who enjoy #purpleProse and #spokenWord Part 2. The Crux of the Matter. >>>>>>> any other Part of my Verbal Vomit. Part 3. Tags-related by some Degree of Separation. For you to find this/me by Topics of Interest, Passion, Concern, or piqued Intrigue. :)

Part 0. Preamble.

I am here to ask for your Help—that in Turn I may regive such Help to others—for no one alone is self-sufficient: Lend a Hand to a Stranger, and keep one Hand for yourself.

Part 1. A prosodic Preface.

The Season of Cold Winter forwent its Stay with us again. While, I must admit, my Parents have done well to afford for me what mere Privilege I may boast, there are—and I know this—those who run about in Mass to prepare up Homes, for each their Beloved fears this deep, dark Cold.

Bleak Torrents in Drizzle dazzle down-down Liquid Crystal Displays and we tune out the Sirens who sing in the Church—where a lonely Voice hangs weeping on the Line—and with Blood spilled fill we our Aquifers: with unmet Woe do our earthen Wombs cry while we goad onward Death’s Cousin: Thirst.

My Family need only re-arrange an outdoor Shed this Year—for that I am grateful. What pains me, though, is this: That offer I may Help generic, yet know I not how to assist others by the skilled Means of my own; meanwhile, I know Families who, while for granted I take the Necessities of Life, keep an eager Watch for Signs of Respite nigh.

Part 2. The Crux of the Matter.

Please, help me to learn to collect, purify, store, and re-use my Water. Safe Water is running and potable! I get it from a #public #Utility and, in Case of Emergency, I have #IodineTablets to purify Waters-stood-still.

#RainCollection offers me Water for a Beginner’s Garden. I could botch together a Rig—but it certainly would be non-compliant of any OSHA Standards, and risky from which to consume! So I need your Help to learn “How to do it safely.” A #homemade Water #FiltrationSystem would encourage Re-use of our Supplies of Water; as would be knowing a “right” Order for multiple Uses of Water in a Day. Can you give me some Pointers and Tips?

#Heating a Room requires active Caution and Care. A #KeroseneLamp, a #NaturalGas #Fireplace, or #GasStove is commonplace in a Settlement without #CentralHeating, but a Flame or Heating Filament carries with it the Risks of Fire and of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning. What Methods and Means of keeping warm in an enclosed Structure are you willing to share with me?

If you made it unscathed through the Reading of this, spectacular! Please reply to my #Toot with any #Advice, #Pointers or Leads to #guide me on my Way. Add your voice to the #Discussion; I’m excited to hear what you have to tell me. :)

Cheers! 👋 Sage (is the Name)

Part 3. Tags-related by some Degree of Separation. If you share Interest(s) with me, request to follow me and send me a Message about what Interest(s) we share; I’d like to keep in Touch! :)

Directly: #DisasterPrep #EmergencyPreparedness #DisasterPlan #HandMade #MadeFromScratch #DoItYourself #DIY #HowDoI #HomeHeating #HomeGarden #Garden #SolarEnergy #SolarPanel #Hydroelectric #WindPower #OffGrid

Indirectly:

• #Blankets #Quilting #DIYRug #Candlemaking #Clothing #Tailor #Seamstress #Bedding #Underclothes #TubeSock #Hoisery #sewing #darning #Knitting #Crochet #FingerKnitting #Weaving #WeavingLoom #Looms #Embroidery #CrossStitch #NaturalFibers #Wool #HempFiber #Cotton #Silk #Linen #BambooFiber #Leather #FurCloth #AnimalHide #SinewChord #PatternWeaving

• #Cobbling #Carpentry #Electrician #Plumber #Plumbing #Reupholstery #FurnitureRepair #HomeCleaning #PowerTools #PowerDrill #CircularSaw

• #Homestead #OrganicGarden #NonGMO #FreshFood #Composting #NaturalFertilizer #Fertilizer #Permaculture #Ecology #GardenFriends #GardenFoes #GardenPests #PlantPests #nativePlants #nativeGarden #foraging #Ethnobotany #Biochemistry #Microbiome #MortarAndPestle #Mortar #Pestle #WaterMill #WindMill #SawMill #AnimalHusbandry

• #Metalwork #TinSmith #IronSmith #CopperSmith #GoldSmith #SilverSmith #Metallurgy #Weld #MetalRecycling #MetalScrap #Scrapping #DIYJewelry #MetalRounds #Cutlery