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Comment by exDM69 | Hacker News Reader

Where I'm from, libraries borrow power tools for free. It kinda makes sense because they already have the infrastructure for storing, borrowing and getting back lost items.

Other things you can borrow or use in local libraries: cargo bikes, moving trolleys, sports equipment (tennis rackets, skis, skates...), board games (never had a single missing item in any I've borrowed), 3d printers, laser cutters, music rehearsal and recoding studios (with grand pianos), tents for camping, tablets and computers, musical instruments, etc.

I think this is great because it makes these things available to the less privileged and I don't mind paying the taxes to support this.

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This begs the question--where are you from? I think your experience is likely fairly atypical.

This wonderful service is provided by the Helsinki metropolitan area libraries.

http://www.helmet.fi/

I am not ok with paying taxes to support this. I have to pay 50% of my after tax pay for housing. So I really don’t care if some less privileged person can borrow a 3D printer.

You do realize that the added cost of borrowing non-book items in libraries is petty pennies on top of the cost of running a library. It's also re-using some of the resources that were previously used to borrow and transport books (which isn't as popular any more).

Getting to try a 3d printer in the library (this item you can't take home, or the grand piano for that matter) may be a life-changing experience for that less privileged kid and give them the opportunities for better life.

I grew up less-privileged in a lousy neighborhood in the 1990s and have to thank my local library for all the programming books, computer and internet access and magazine subscriptions in helping me eventually get a degree in Computer Science and become a professional in the field.

But you are not alone with your opinion, there are plenty of people who think "libraries should stick to books" or "shut down libraries, no-one reads books any more". I choose to politely disagree and say "borrow all the things".

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