VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) – Books are the first thing to greet you at the Princess Anne Library in Virginia Beach, but if you take a few more steps inside, you’ll see surfboards, gardening tools, pickleball sets, and more. They are all waiting to be checked out!
“We wanted to give folks a way to go outside, be with their families, try new things,” said Ashley Barrineau, branch manager of the Princess Anne Library.
Barrineau came up with the idea for the “Explore Outdoors Collection.” Her dream became a reality thanks to a grant from the Virginia Beach Public Library Foundation. It’s safe to say this new program is popular.
“On day 2, everything was gone, but on day 1, we had two things left on the shelves and the next day they were gone.”
The Explore Outdoors shelves were almost bare when https://digital-staging.wavy.com/ was there. So many people used their library cards to check out an item for free.
Barrineau says ping pong sets, kites, and surfboards were the first items out the door when the program launched on June 15. Local librarians worked to find out if any other libraries circulated surfboards.
“We only found one in Australia. So, I think we’re the first library in North America to circulate surfboards. So, that’s pretty exciting,” said Barrineau.
Explore Outdoors is a test program for now. Barrineau wants to get feedback from customers, find out how long the products last, and then they will refine the program before expanding it to other libraries.
Right now, the products can be checked out for three weeks, for free with your library card, before they have to be returned to the library.
