For any library, engaging with their patrons and community on a personal and emotional level can be challenging. A LOT provides this level of engagement by facilitating the serendipitous discovery of new and interesting materials, expanding the way both patrons and staff think about library services, empowering patrons by encouraging them to guide themselves and ensuring better understanding and knowledge retention by emphasizing learning through experience.

The LOT collection remains relatively inexpensive and contains over 350 Things and 300 board games, with a combined 24,000 circulations. Due to popularity, few items are in at a time, which means minimal impact on space. Much of our success can be attributed to a vibrant marketing and branding campaign, including soliciting extensive feedback from the public, collaborating with other city departments, and inspiring patrons to “check out an experience” through a video/social media campaign.

With our LOT, we set out to provide patrons the means to try new things easily and without a large upfront personal investment. While achieving these aims, we have discovered that a good LOT collection breaks down barriers individuals may typically encounter in picking up completely new things. We have also learned that by altering the public perception of what is possible at a public library, this in turn allows freedom to innovate going forward.