Photo Courtesy of Rishan Hemrajani Rishan Hemrajani (left) and Kyle Nguyen (right) pose with items donated to the Library of Things.
A community-driven initiative that began nearly a year ago with two high school seniors has reached fruition and is ready to debut to the Fort Bend public. It’s called the Fort Bend County Libraries Library of Things, and its purpose is adequately expressed in the name — a collection of things people can borrow from the library.
“We were both frustrated by the constant need to purchase expensive, one-time-use items,” explained one of the high schoolers, Rishan Hemrajani, who, at the time, was president of his school’s Technology Student Association and had built nationally recognized TSA projects. Fellow classmate and senior, Kyle Nguyen, who was the senior class president, agreed, recalling how often a one-time-use item was needed when he was organizing large school and community events.
The duo said they considered the challenges they experienced with having to purchase one-use items “a cycle of wasted spending and limited access.”
Operating beneath the Fort Bend County Libraries system, The Library of Things allows people to borrow useful and oftentimes expensive items, from tools to tech and gadgets to games, for free — just like books. The program promotes sustainability, saves money, and encourages sharing by giving everyone access to donated items they may need occasionally or want to try before making a purchase.
Items currently found in The Library of Things include binoculars, a telescope, a power and moisture meter, a projector with WiFi and Bluetooth, a selfie ring light, a Smart Pen (Scanning dictionary pen), a Metal Detector, Hayner-seek studio headphones with a microphone, Hayner-seek podcast equipment, a thermal camera, a gimbal stabilizer, and a portable cassette player.
George Memorial Library, 1001 Golfview in Richmond, is the launching site for the pilot program, which opens June 8.
To be eligible to check out an item from The Library of Things, the library user must be at least 18 years old, a Fort Bend County resident, and have a full-service or homebound library card. The patron must also provide valid photo identification and proof of residence at check-out.
For more information, please visit www.fortbendlibraries.gov.
FROM VISION TO REALITY
Beyond being classmates at Jordan High School in Katy, Rishan Hemrajani and Kyle Nguyen were also active members in the Fulshear Branch Library’s Young Adult Advisory Council. It was through involvement with that specific library program that they came to understand the library’s role as “a hub for innovation, sustainability and community connection,” Hemrajani explained.
Motivated by this, the two high schoolers brainstormed a solution to the one-use purchases that would help the community at large: “A shared collection where neighbors could borrow rather than buy,” they explained.
With the desire to help serve some 900,000 county residents across 11 library branches, they reached out to Fort Bend Libraries Library Director Roosevelt Weeks with a proposal. “What we thought might go unanswered quickly turned into a meeting with library leadership,” said Hemrajani. “And within weeks, the ambitious concept became a county initiative.”
In the months that followed, through social media campaigns, community engagement, and local media, the students amassed a collection for The Library of Things from donations from all corners of the county.
Now, the Fort Bend community can benefit from their vision.
“What began as a grassroots effort steadily grew into a collection of hundreds of items,” said Hemrajani and Nguyen. The project, they added, “stands as both a reflection of Fort Bend County Libraries’ mission and a testament to the remarkable leadership of two students.”
SIDEBAR:
Library system announces circulation updates to reduce barriers
In addition to debuting the Library of Things on June 8, Fort Bend County Libraries updated its circulation policy to reduce barriers limiting customers’ access to the library system’s resources.
Key changes to the policy include increasing the blocking fee threshold from $5 to $25; allowing patrons to borrow up to three Wonderbooks at once, (it used to be one Wonderbook); and now borrowing comes with three automatic renewals on most items. Previously, patrons were provided with two automatic renewals.
Also, full-service, e-cards, and homebound cards will expire every three years instead of every two years; e-cards are now available to all Texas residents; and Computer Use cards will not require identification.
The updates go into effect June 8. For more information, visit www.fortbendlibraries.gov.
