By Mia Ortiz ’29
Need a bike tire pump, graphing calculator, projector, or a luggage scale? These items and more can be found through Lafayette’s Life Library.
The Life Library can be found in Skillman Library and offers practical and skill-building tools and items that can be checked out of the library at any time.
Kate Pitts, operations and communications manager for Lafayette College Libraries, says the Life Library’s mission is to foster an academic environment where students can approach engagement in the world through a practical skill-building lens.
“We noticed that students were informally lending each other items like hammers and bicycles, and recognized the need for a resource where students could easily and affordably access items they may not have brought with them to college,” Pitts says.
The Life Library includes a variety of items to aid students, staff, and faculty. Commonly used items are board games, bicycles, and tool kits. The Libraries recently added jigsaw puzzles, and portable record and cassette players. While items can be checked out at any time the loan period of specific items may vary.
Life Library items can’t be placed on hold. Items are first come, first served. By going to the Circulation Desk in Skillman, you can request any item of your choice and check it out using your Lafayette ID. If you would like to know whether an item is available you can always browse the library catalog.
If there is an item you seek or would like to see added to the Life Library collection, you can send over a note via the Libraries’ suggestion form. The Libraries are hoping to add video games to the collection this summer.