A new program with various Oklahoma City metro-area libraries is making gardening tools available for residents to loan and offering workshops on how to use them.
Metro Grows launched its first “Library of Things” collection this spring, which will allow gardening newbies and seasoned gardeners alike the opportunity to check out various tools for use. The new program was made possible by health literacy grants from the Oklahoma Department of Libraries and the Institute of Museum and Library Studies.
What is a ‘library of things’?
A “Library of Things” allows for additional items to be loaned beyond the traditional literary materials most people would expect from a library. Officials say it serves a two-fold purpose: cutting down on waste by encouraging the “sharing economy” and furthering the city’s sustainability efforts; and providing residents the chance to “try before you buy” items that you may not have had a chance to test otherwise.
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What are the tools that I can check out?
Gardening tools available for check-out through the Metro Grows program include:
- Broad forks
- Digging shovels
- Garden hoes
- Garden rakes
- Garden spades
- Hand tool sets
- Loppers
- Spading forks
The borrowing time period is three weeks. Tools are on a first-come, first-serve basis and cannot be placed on hold.
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Where can I check out the Metro Grows tools?
Library staff encourage residents to visit any of the eight participating locations to request the use of the gardening tools, as each site will have the same tools available:
- Almonte Library
- Belle Isle Library
- Capitol Hill Library
- Downtown Library
- Ralph Ellison Library
- Southern Oaks Library
- The Village Library
- Warr Acres Library
Guests must return the tools to the same library from which they were originally loaned. The tools are considered “non-renewable library items,” but if a guest brings the tools back to the library and other tools are available for guests to check out, the staff can check the tools back in and out again for three more weeks.
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When are the events where I can learn more about how to use the tools?
In partnership with Oklahoma State University County Extension, the libraries also are holding several “Spring Gardening for Beginners” workshops this month through Metro Grows. Participants can learn how to start a garden, how to correctly use the tools, how to properly test soil and how to plant seeds for an effective harvest.
- 2 to 3 p.m. March 12, Capitol Hill Library
- 11 a.m. to noon March 15, Downtown Library
- 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. March 18, Village Library
- 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. March 21, Ralph Ellison Library
- 10 to 11:30 a.m. March 24, Southern Oaks Library,
- 2 to 3 p.m. March 26, Warr Acres Library
- 6 to 7 p.m. March 28, Almonte Library
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In addition, the libraries also plan to host workshops for residents to learn how to raise their own backyard chickens.
- 11 a.m. to noon March 15, Ralph Ellison Library
- 10 to 11 a.m. March 18, Belle Isle Library
- 1 to 2 p.m. March 26, Capitol Hill Library
Starting in August, the city’s library system plans to evaluate how well Metro Grows is going at the eight libraries currently participating in the program and may adapt or expand the program if necessary.