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Posted by sohkamyung 15 hours ago

Renting a sewing machine from the library(www.bbc.com)
257 points | 147 commentspage 4
Havoc 13 hours ago|
> 55% of Finns visit libraries at least once a month.

Wait what? That seems insanely high even for a progressive society.

As a reference point UK is at 30% on YEARLY STATS NOT MONTHLY

>In England, 30% of adults aged 16 and over used a public library service at least once in the previous 12 months.

stevekemp 5 hours ago||
I moved to Finland, and starting when my child was about three years old I took him to Oodi every weekend.

The soft-play area was heaven for him, and he liked flicking through the donald-duck comic books.

Even now, when he's nine, I go every month or two with him for an afternoon. He has no shortage of books at home, but he gets to run around, look at books, and play with other kids. He enjoys himself enormously.

deanc 9 hours ago|||
I live in Finland and even I am sceptical of this figure. Maybe that’s because I go once a year.

I will say it’s very very common for folks to use the library for its primary purpose of renting books - which of course requires a visit twice in a month - once to collect and once to return.

fragmede 9 hours ago|||
On the return trip, you collect another set of books, which you then also have to return in two weeks.
fragmede 9 hours ago|||
On the return trip, you collect another set of books, making it a habit.
timonoko 8 hours ago||
The report is deliberately misleading by the red-green government. If you read between the lines it is a poll among the library visitors.
iberator 14 hours ago||
Sewing machines are great for computer people: you can train your fashion sense and motor skills(!) - most 'nerds' lack it :)

Also it's an incredible women magnet :)

nntwozz 14 hours ago|
Hey baby, wanna see my sewing machine? I can add a gusset anywhere you want.
kaikai 13 hours ago||
Forget about gussets, I can offer pockets
tim-tday 10 hours ago||
Ha. Give a lady something she really wants and you’re in.
panchtatvam 9 hours ago||
That's one way to convert a library from home of books to home of everything non-bookish. No way the society is growing dumber day by day.
fnord77 9 hours ago||
South SF library has sewing machines

SFPL used to have tools until it got ruined.

queenkjuul 12 hours ago||
I always wanted to start a musical instrument library. I loved working in a music store, helping people pick out the right instruments for what they're trying to accomplish, but always constrained by their budget. We had a per-semester rental program for school band students, where we'd take a deposit and rental fees but we'd handle the maintenance and families could save a ton versus buying. Something similar where like, you want to loan out a particular amp or pedal or synth or cymbal or something to go record a record for a week, the library would be there to help you access gear you couldn't normally afford, and I'd be there to keep everything working and help you find the right tool for the job.

Maybe someday.

bzzzt 5 hours ago|
I think musical instruments, especially digital ones like synthesizers or effects but also guitars and other acoustic instruments, have become a lot more affordable the last decade without severely impacting quality. You don't really need the expensive stuff anymore when you can record a quality recording with a second hand iPad and a below $100 microphone.

Rental of expensive stuff will always be expensive too due to insurance, maintenance and fraud. It's not really helping to make stuff more accessible, more a convenience for the pro's that need stuff for a gig.

white_tiger 10 hours ago||
cool
trueno 10 hours ago||
i love the one HN thread title a day that hits whatever this mark is. i love this lmao
redwood 14 hours ago||
Berkeley had a very cool tool lending library
dredmorbius 11 hours ago|
"Had"?
ihaveajob 8 hours ago||
Has. I can confirm.
MagicMoonlight 2 hours ago||
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nicechianti 12 hours ago|
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