Maybe electrical outlet testers. Things that could improve safety but are largely left sitting unused 99% of the time.
this post was submitted on 16 Oct 2025
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Tools
Various detectors you use when trying to debug a problem -- ethernet testers, decibel meter, battery discharge tester, thermal camera, wifi and cellular signal analyzers, air quality testers, radon detectors (edit: hah of course this is what article is about), stud finders, etc.
Overly-specific tools -- ethernet crimpers, obscure driver bits.
The Kitchener main(central?) library has music instruments, and mobile hotspots, which i thought was awesome when I lived there.
And you can also "borrow" their recording studio.
Best library ever.
I like this article and modernizing library beyond literature is a really good thing.
Although the greater issue is that a large part of the population seems to consider things like libraries to be to socialized if they didn't already exist.
I don’t know how long it’d last, but an external CD-ROM drive could be useful in this day and age.
I'd add external floppy drives to that, and any means of digitizing VHS tapes and audio cassettes. Many people will need these once in a lifetime to try to recover information of personal value from obsolete media, but almost no one will need them more than once.
CD DVD combo
Definitely, mine has been sitting around for the majority of the time but I still need it every now and then.
USB stick with os installer. People don't always have a second PC to make one.
This could have security implications. I believe most libraries have a computer to use, not sure on permissions of using a usb stick.
Edit: I'm from US, so I am assuming Canadian libraries typically have a computer for public use.
You can make an immutable USB.
Alternatively, they just need an automated 'wipe/format/re-image' processnas part of the check-in.
In fact, that would make it easier for them to maintain a current image.
I was really iffy about this but I like the idea of having the library reformatting the drive after the return. Sure there is still firmware hacks or hacks that could be transferred to the library but if someone is going to do that I think there are other things to worry about.
And I think the OS needs to be a variant of Linux, really get the push away from Apple, Google, Microsoft, Sun, etc.
Libraries are indeed targets of malware and ransomeware. In Ontario, at least Toronto, Hamilton, and London public libraries have been ransomewared. The idea is nice, but I think the risk would be too high for libraries with increasingly slashed budgets. Even with an air-gapped system doing the formatting, I can't imagine library IT devoting the time to do this.
rayhunters and mesh network nodes.
Items relating to the transfer of information that are immediately usable, transferrable and replaceable.
USB sticks that are also audio players or video sticks would make sense? Although the video bit doesn’t satisfy my criteria.