Cindy Hohl

This is an opportunity for libraries to start curating a local collection of items, outside of book materials, based on the local needs of the community.

An illustration of library check out cards

While books still top the list of borrowed items, most libraries have expanded their offerings to include everything from musical instruments, baking pans, and science kits.

Ten Unexpected Things to Check Out at Public Libraries

Artists as Catalysts

Artists as Catalysts Navigation Image

Beyond Incarceration

A side profile of a Black poet who is wearing glasses and a hat with a feather hat pin.

Borderlands Cultures

In portrait orientation, an aerial view of a major highway running parallel to a large border wall set on a hilly landscape

Civic Engagement

A man in a brown jacket stands in front of blue bulletin board that is covered with papers and advertisements  

Evolving Higher Education

A vertical image of an Indigenous person who is sitting on a chair in front of a backdrop.

Expanding Public Knowledge

An interior room filled with audio and video equipment 

Monuments and Memory

A multicolored painted totem pole set in front of a foggy forest landscape

Multivocality

Five people stand together in a group photo. They are laughing and smiling.

Power of the Word

Five colorful neon signs hang on the wall with messages that include, "Freedom cannot wait," "Brown owned," and "America is for Dreamers."

Public Places‚ Public Stories

A group of Indigenous Maskoke people stand and sit in the wooden frame of a structure in a woods

Puerto Rico and Its Diaspora

In a vertical image, a black leather vest is adorned with colorful pins across the front of it. Embroidery on the vest reads: "Felícitas "La Prieta" Méndez" 

University Everywhere

Students walk through the campus of the University of Hawaii

Mission AdobeStock 420526748 1440x1800V

Mission

History iStock-1313300194 vert

History

Grantmaking areas

Grantmaking Areas

People iStock-1311055822 vert

People

Financials navigation image

Financials

News iStock-1406026883 vert

News

Events iStock-1323998165 vert

Events

Related