Tools, fishing rods and snowshoes now on library shelves

A public library branch in Toronto is offering something other than books. Library users can also borrow drills, saws, wrenches or whatever they need for a week.

The library system recently partnered with the Toronto Tool Library to serve a need in the community. It's just one in a growing list of libraries across Canada offering a lot more than books.

• VIDEO | Power tools join paperbacks at Downsview library

The library in Sudbury, Ont., loans out fishing equipment and in Vancouver, a brand-new "Inspiration Lab" just opened.

"It'll be 7,500 square feet of different types of tools for digital creation, so we will have sound booths where people can go in and record," explained Vancouver Public Library chief librarian Sandra Singh.

So why are libraries expanding their reach? Judith Hare, the recently retired CEO of Halifax Public Libraries, said it's because they have to. As she explained, physical books simply aren't used as often.

"Some libraries experienced a decline in use but libraries have clearly responded to any of those challenges," she said.

"I've always said that libraries are voluntary. I mean, you don't have to go to a library, so in order for libraries to continue to be well-used they have to be providing things that people need."

Hare said the needs of a community change and libraries are meant to adapt to that change. For example, she said Google changed the way people access information, and libraries had to acknowledge that and become more digital.

What's the role of a library?

However, when libraries expand their offerings to things like power tools, fishing rods and even snowshoes — which you can borrow at the local branch in Petawawa, Ont. — it calls into question the role of a library.

Some academics have argued that it takes away resources from its primary function, which is to provide information. Hare admitted that it's partially true.

"I would agree that it would perhaps not be a good use of funds if you were putting a tool library, for example, into every single branch," she said. "But if there's a community that has a strong need for something and you're able to meet that need, then I think it's a good use."

Whether you agree that it's a good use or not, Hare said the focus for libraries going forward has to be about a lot more than thinking of new items to lend out. She said much of the space can't be filled with books anymore.

"It's no longer possible for a library to concentrate on books and ignore all of the other things that are happening," she said.

"I think physical space is really important in that technology takes up space, people take up space in order to do interesting programs or provide new services."

Ryan Dyment of the Toronto Tool Library thinks he's contributing to the future of libraries.

"This saw here, you might use it just a few times a year, and to have to store it for the rest of the year [and] meanwhile other people also need access to it … doesn't make a lot of sense," he said.

Despite fewer users checking items out, the Canadian Library Association reported that there are one million visits to some sort of library every day across the country.