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Your Brooklyn Public Library card can already score you books, vinyl records, museum admission and even musical instruments. Starting this week, it can also help you pick up a new hobby without buying a small Michaels store’s worth of equipment.
The Brooklyn Public Library has launched its first Craft Supply Library at Central Library, allowing adult cardholders to borrow reusable tools and kits for creative projects at no cost. The program comes at a time when analog hobbies continue to flourish—and as many would-be crafters discover that getting started can require a surprising amount of gear, money and closet space.
The collection is divided into two categories: craft kits, which contain an assortment of reusable supplies designed to help borrowers learn or complete a particular craft, and craft tools, which are single-purpose items used for specific tasks. Cardholders can borrow up to three kits and two tools at the same time. Kits can be checked out for three weeks and tools have a shorter, one-week lending period.
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One catch: borrowers still need to supply the stuff that gets used up. The library does not provide consumable materials such as yarn, thread, glue, paint or buttons. Sewing machines are also not part of the collection—at least not yet.
To borrow an item, cardholders must place a hold through BPL’s online catalog and wait for a phone or email confirming that it is ready. Processing can take up to three days and reserved supplies will be held for seven days. The person whose card was used must collect the item and sign a liability waiver each time.
For now, the free service is available exclusively at Central Library at 10 Grand Army Plaza. Borrowers must return each item clean, complete and inside its original container. Missing pieces that leave a kit unusable may result in a replacement fine.
Have a gently used craft tool gathering dust at home? BPL is also accepting potential donations, meaning that Brooklyn’s next great knitting, jewelry-making or needlepoint obsession could begin with your former hobby.