Within the Wauwatosa Public Library collections, you might find something more than books. No, not just boundless knowledge and new worlds, but board games, power tools, crafting kits, and much more. These items are part of the ever-growing Library of Things, the amazing collection of useful household objects, toys, learning tools, and game night activities.

From 2023 to 2024, the Wauwatosa Public Library saw a 9.8% increase in library visits. In 2024, 17.86 items were checked out per resident in Wauwatosa. What were these items that residents can’t resist? Beyond the carefully curated collection of books, Wauwatosa boasts a new Library of Things, rapidly increasing in size and popularity.

A popular term across libraries, a “library of things” includes useful tools, crafting devices, board games, educational activities, and so much more. Beyond these items, the Wauwatosa Public Library also has day passes to the Betty Brinn Children's Museum, Milwaukee Art Museum, and the Mitchell Park Domes, and artwork available for all who have a library card.

In 2020, during the height of the COVID pandemic, when kids were out of school and at home, parents dove into new roles as teachers. To aide in this transformation, the library added a few useful tools to the collection of books, including a few microscopes and robots. This was the beginning of the Library of Things.

Though these items have aged out of circulation, the Library of Things has continued offering kids affordable ways to learn about the world, with engineering kits, like the $200 Sphero Blueprint build kit, and science toys, selected by Katie Jentges. A librarian at the Wauwatosa Public Library for 8 years, Katie has dedicated her time across the library, from where you may see her behind the adult reference desk, to leading teen programing.

Throughout her many roles, Katie maintains a passion for growing the ease for all to benefit from the library. This is seen through her position transforming the Library of Things, what she has described as her “labor of love--most of the time anyway." Taking up the mantle 2023, Katie recognized the potential to increase the collection through the IEEE grant for teen-oriented STEM education. With this grant, she was able to establish the STEM section of the Library of Things, one of four categories, including play, tool, and make.

Working on filling out the catalog under play, Katie was able to use the budget for the Library of Things to purchase 40 boardgames at the end of 2024, including award winning game called Azul. Accessible for all library card holders, when instead of buying the $30 game Azul, the collection creates fun and free family game nights.

Recent additions to the tool collection have brought in Milwaukee Tool drill and driver, thanks to a generous donation, a pressure washer, and other household benefits. On the horizon is expanding the make section, already including a Cricut, a heavy-duty Singer Sewing Machine, and a Junior Singer Sewing Machine.

Along with expanding the robust library, Katie is hard at work streamlining the current checkout system for the library, creating a more efficient and accessible future for the popular Library of Things. Parallel to her hard at work, building the catalog from the ground up, the Library of Things will be getting a new space with a new coat of paint, ready for everyone. 

The next time you visit the Wauwatosa Public Library, don’t just check out a book, but also a thing! To learn more about the catalog, visit the website. Can’t find what you’re looking for? Hold the other items in the Milwaukee system on the County Cat or make a request to the Wauwatosa Public Library. And when you do find the perfect game, tool, or device, visit the library to check out that anticipated item. Just be warned, you’re not the only one excited to try out a night of karaoke.