binocular_check_out_west_marin_library
BINOCULARS: Backpacks with binoculars and bird identification materials are now available to check out of the Point Reyes Library, and will soon be available at other West Marin libraries.    David Briggs

Spotting a red-shouldered hawk in the sky or a fuzzy whale’s spout at Drakes Beach can be mesmerizing—but oftentimes wildlife is a little too far away to see clearly. Now you don’t need to own a pair of binoculars to bring them up close: library cardholders can check out “family bird discovery packs” from the Point Reyes Library that include a children’s backpack, a pair of binoculars and a bird identification booklet, thanks to a $3,000 grant awarded by the Marin County Fish and Wildlife Commission to the nonprofit Tomales Bay Library Association. The idea for adding binoculars to the library’s inventory originated in a trip that Bonny White, the library’s West Marin branch manager, took to Mendocino. She was hoping to see migrating whales, but without binoculars to offer a better look—she hadn’t brought any—whales and their spouts are often just distant specks. “I thought, ‘I wish I could just borrow some,’’’ she said, a problem she suspected also strikes people in West Marin. Soon the Tomales Bay Library Association applied for and received enough funding to make 12 discovery sets, which can each be checked out for up to a week. They will initially all be checked out and returned to the Point Reyes Library, but eventually the plan is to spread them out along the coast: six in Point Reyes, two in Inverness, two in Bolinas and two in Stinson Beach. The packs are designed for kids and families. But, Ms. White added, “I want them to be checked out by anyone with a library card… I bought binoculars that are particularly good for kids, but anyone can use them.” The idea of libraries stocking not just books but objects—of developing a “library of things”—is a relatively recent phenomenon and appears to be gaining steam. Sacramento’s public library recently launched a library of things where cardholders can check out musical instruments, sewing machines, video games, board games, GoPros and more. Some other libraries have similar programs. The binoculars, Ms. White said, could serve as the first step in for the county stocking more objects. “I think it could be the beginning of the library of things for us,” she said.