I recently talked to a NYC official who said to me NYC's Libraries could not afford to purchase equipment for to stock recreation equipment library. Not true.
A library in Maine's recreation equipment collection consists of 4 items...
Basketball $14.99
Frisbee $10.89
Hackey sack $4.00
Jump rope $1.49
These items can be bough from Amazon for $31.37. Shipping is free with orders over $25, or an Amazon Prime membership.
For larger collections here are some ways to fund...
Donations by Businesses
Our local 99 Cent shop is willing to donate jump ropes, hula hoops, and ping pong paddles to a sports equipment library.
Donations by Individuals
Toy libraries as Kinder Kids (below) solicit donations of toys for loan at the library.
Kindred kids is a non profit lending library for children with differing abilities. We provide a
lending library of toys, books and equipment (wheelchairs, walkers, communication
devices etc.)
Who better to help kids....but kids. By donating their toys, time and friendship, the kids will
get more out of this adventure than they put in! (and so will the grown ups!)
We are seeking donations of toys and materials to be used in the lending library as well
as to be sold to the general public to earn some of our funding for the organization link
Individuals can also be asked to donate funds to buy recreation equipment for loan at libraries.
Costs of Stocking a
Recreation Equipment Library
Recreation Equipment Library
Sports Recreation Equipment
Here are 14 sports recreation equipment items loaned at 7 of the branches of the Tallinn Library in Estonia. The cost for a library to duplicate this collection would be about $425
4.2.1 Figure trimmer twister plate $19.95
4.2.2 Dumbbells $19
4.2.3 Jump rope $5.99
4.2.4 Football $23
4.2.5 Basketball $20
4.2.6 Walking poles $80
4.2.7 Hand weights $23
4.2.8 Twister game $13
4.2.9 Mölkky (throwing game) $43
4.2.10 Pulse monitor watch $54
4.2.11 Pedometer $13
4.2.12 Badminton set $50
4.2.13 Balancing board $49
4.2.14 Volleyball $10
Special Needs Recreation Equipment
Here are some standard playthings that are being used by people with disabilities. These 4 items have been recommended by users for 22 different conditions.
Bilibo $27 Downs ADD/ADHD, Aspergers, Autism,, Sensory Integration Disorder
Learning Disabilities, Sensory Integration Disorder, Speech & Language Delay, Vision Impairment
Checker Rug $14.95 Hearing Impairment, Vision Impairment
Magnetic Supermind $25 Aprraxia, ADD/ADHD, Aspergers, Autism, Cerebral Palsy,
Developmental Delay, Learning Disabilities, Sensory Integration Disorder, Traumatic Brain Injury
Peanut Ball $42.99 Developmental Delay, Hydrocephalus, Mental Retardation, Sensory Integration Disorder, Speech & Language Delay
A little over $100 will get a library these 4 items. A library with a special needs recreation equipment budget of just $1,000 can offer their community about 40 toys to choose from.
Library of Things
For a library with a $3,000 recreation equipment budget here's what you can get....
The cost of the following 26 portable recreation equipment items plus some portable utilitarian items is about $1,000. They can make up a starter collection:
Ukulele: $55
Corn Hole: $60
Foam Bowling Bowl set $60
Nok Hockey $40
Hula Hoops $3
Lego Classic Set: $40
Basket Ball $7.50
Leaf Blower $50
Scrabble $20
Rubiks Cube: $3.50
Dominoes $15.00
Chess set $30.00
Ping pong paddle/ball $15.00
Soccer Ball $19.00
Figure trimmer twister plate $30
Jump rope $15.00
Football $13.00
Badminton set $50
Portable chair $25.00
Electric usage meter $30
Sound Meter $25
Microscope $25
Mini keyboard piano $50
Portable DVD Player $100
Telescope $150
Puppets $10
The rest of the allocated money can be spent based on
-usage patterns of these items
-requests for other items (see Sacramento voting)
Additional items can be ordered via an Amazon Prime account which promises 2 day delivery of most items.
The system is meant to be self organizing, so as to continually reflect evolving needs of items people in the neighborhood actually want, and how many they want of it.
The Rockefeller Park Parkhouse loans objects only for the day. For libraries adjacent to parks up to 800 feet (3 minutes walk ) of parks, lets say the loan period will be just for the day. The Tompkins Square Park Library has Chess and Checkers sets that they loan out for in library use. I was told that they would be holding your library card as security for the item you were using.
Based on branch space availability and service demand you can configure anything from a small collection that will fit behind the circulation desk, or a large collection.
You could have a mixture of loan period items some for day that are loaned with a library card, , others for longer periods that are loaned via the libraries standard checkout system.
Mini keyboard piano $50
Portable DVD Player $100
Telescope $150
Puppets $10
The rest of the allocated money can be spent based on
-usage patterns of these items
-requests for other items (see Sacramento voting)
Additional items can be ordered via an Amazon Prime account which promises 2 day delivery of most items.
The system is meant to be self organizing, so as to continually reflect evolving needs of items people in the neighborhood actually want, and how many they want of it.
The Rockefeller Park Parkhouse loans objects only for the day. For libraries adjacent to parks up to 800 feet (3 minutes walk ) of parks, lets say the loan period will be just for the day. The Tompkins Square Park Library has Chess and Checkers sets that they loan out for in library use. I was told that they would be holding your library card as security for the item you were using.
Based on branch space availability and service demand you can configure anything from a small collection that will fit behind the circulation desk, or a large collection.
You could have a mixture of loan period items some for day that are loaned with a library card, , others for longer periods that are loaned via the libraries standard checkout system.
More Funding Ideas
-NYC Council members can fund it from their expense budget
-A Kickstarter campaign can fund it from the community
Shape Up NYC : NYC Parks a NYC Parks offers exercise classes. Currently it is held in several the Queens Public Library Branches
| Queens Library - Langston Hughes | Shape Up NYC: Cardio Sculpt | Wednesday | 5:00 p.m.-5:45 p.m. | Details |
| Queens Library - Queens Village | Shape Up NYC: Boot Camp | Thursday | 6:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m. | Details |
| Queens Library - Ridgewood | Shape Up NYC: Intro to Yoga | Wednesday | 5:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m. | Details |
| Queens Library - Woodside | Shape Up NYC: Full Body Fitness | Monday | 2:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m. | Details |
| Queens Library - Woodside | Low-Impact Aerobics | Tuesday | 2:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m. | Details |
If Parks can fund activities in these places for an hour or 2 a week a week
why not fund a program in our libraries that will support a wide
variety of On Demand parks recreation options for ALL over 40 hours per week per location
