Where to Borrow a Power Drill, a Telescope or a Ukulele on an L.A. Library Card

Eight free lending programs across the county, what each one hands you, and the return rule that catches people.

You're wondering whether this is a shelf of jigsaw puzzles and a spare umbrella. It isn't. LA County Library's tool catalog runs past a hundred line items, and it includes a power washer, a 24-inch bolt cutter, an auto engine code reader, a Cricut Explore Air 2 and an electronic drum kit. The catch is geography. The county lends tools at six libraries, it says so plainly, and it will not send one to yours.

Eight free lending programs run across five Los Angeles library systems, and they overlap almost nowhere. We read every lending page below on September 4, 2026, counted the branch lists ourselves, and compared the rules against each other. Almost none of it is what you'd guess from the word "library," and nearly every item carries a condition the catalog page doesn't print in the same paragraph as the item. Nobody at this desk borrowed anything and no library was called; every figure here comes from a page we opened.

The tools are at six libraries, and they belong to the county

LA County Library lends tools at Compton, Lancaster, Malibu, Norwalk, Rosemead and San Fernando. That's the whole list. The program page sorts its inventory into hand tools, power tools, measuring and layout, clamps and jigs, electrical, auto repair, bike repair, sewing and clothing repair, vlog equipment, baking, crafting, gardening, musical instruments and one DVD player. The baking shelf alone carries seven cake pans, a muffin tin, a bundt pan and a hand mixer. The vlog shelf carries a GoPro, a Sony ZV-E10, a PodMic, a tripod and a stabilizer.

The rules are strict and the page states them in one paragraph. Borrowers must be cardholders over the age of 18 and in good standing, and must sign a Liability Waiver and Indemnification Form. Tools go out for seven days, musical instruments for 21, and neither can be renewed. You may hold six tools at once, with a maximum of two from a heavy list the page names: drill driver, sanders, pressure washer, sewing machine, Cricut machine, musical instruments. Only the person who borrowed the tool may use it.

Two more lines on that page will save you a drive. The first is that space is tight and no two branches stock the same set, so the county tells you to check the catalog and phone the branch before you go. The second is the one people learn the hard way: the library lends the tool and none of the supplies. Staples for the staple gun, glue sticks for the glue gun, mats and materials for the Cricut, sandpaper for the sander, thread and notions for the sewing machine, a garden hose for the power washer — all of that is yours to bring. Budget for the consumables. On a small job they're most of the cost.

And the tool goes back into a person's hands. The county's instruction is to return it at the branch that owns it, directly to a staff member, and never into the book drop.

The city library lends nearly everything except a hammer

Los Angeles Public Library is a separate system with a separate card, and it has no tool-lending program at all. What it has instead is stranger and, for a lot of readers, more useful.

Ukuleles. The kit is "instrument, case, chord book, and tuner," out for three weeks, one kit per card, returned in person at the circulation desk. We counted the branch list on the program page: 18 libraries, from Arroyo Seco and Chatsworth to San Pedro, Venice and Wilmington. LAPL says it runs 73 locations, so roughly one branch in four has one.

Birdwatching backpacks. Built with the San Fernando Valley Audubon Society, the backpack holds binoculars, a copy of Birds of Southern California, a birding notepad, local Audubon literature and, per the library's own contents list, "one lovely sharpened pencil." It goes out for six weeks, one per person, no renewals, returned to the branch that owns it. We counted 21 participating libraries — Canoga Park, Chatsworth, Encino-Tarzana, Granada Hills, Lake View Terrace, Mid-Valley, North Hollywood, Northridge, Pacoima, Panorama City, Platt, Porter Ranch, Sherman Oaks, Studio City, Sun Valley, Sunland-Tujunga, Sylmar, Valley Plaza, Van Nuys, West Valley and Woodland Hills. Every one of them is in the San Fernando Valley. If you live south of the hills, this program is a drive, not a walk.

Laptops, hotspots, repair kits and solar chargers. The Tech2go shelf is open to "adults with a library card in good standing," and some items require signing a Mobile Device User Agreement at checkout. It carries Chromebooks, Chromebook-and-hotspot bundles both described as available for long-term use, hotspots aimed at "families and households that lack these services," an iFixit electronics kit with a 64-piece precision bit driver set, tweezers, opening tools and an anti-static wristband, and 25-watt weatherproof USB solar chargers the library suggests for hiking, camping and disaster prep. Devices must be collected from the branch that holds them and can't be transferred to another one.

Two Tech2go items are worth knowing about for different reasons. The Mobile Computer Lab isn't for individuals at all — nonprofits, schools and government bodies apply for it, and an approved institution keeps it for up to six months. Each lab is 11 Windows laptops, a projector, two hotspots, a screen and a wheeled case. And the VR headsets, built with the MIT Open Documentary Lab, never leave the building: they're for use inside the library, at six branches we counted — Arroyo Seco, Central Library's Octavia Lab, Granada Hills, San Pedro, Washington Irving and Westwood.

Parents should know about one more line on that page. The Yoto Mini Player, a screen-free audio player that reads from physical cards, circulates at 13 branches: Children's Literature, Eagle Rock, Fairfax, Lake View Terrace, Lincoln Heights, Mid-Valley, Platt, Playa Vista, San Pedro, Sun Valley, Vermont Square, Washington Irving and Westwood. The card selection is browsed in person at each site.

Science kits. LAPL's Neighborhood Science collection lends eight DIY kits for measuring your own block: mosquito habitat mapping, night-sky light pollution, cloud observation, biodiversity, air quality in two versions, water quality, and urban heat.

Altadena has the widest single shelf in the county

The Altadena Library District — its own district, with its own card, separate from both big systems — runs the most complete Library of Things in the county. Laptops, Wi-Fi hotspots, telescopes, sewing machines, blood pressure monitors, air quality monitors, Playaway Launchpad learning tablets, mental health kits, California State Parks passes, digital recording tools, hiking backpacks and board games. Most of it circulates for seven days with up to two renewals; hotspots go out for up to 21.

The gate here is unusual and worth reading before you drive over. Altadena lends things only to cardholders with what it calls Good Neighbor account status, which the page defines as "cardholder for more than 21 days, no outstanding fees, and a history of returning materials." A card issued this morning does not open this shelf. Three weeks of ordinary borrowing does.

Parts of that collection are a direct answer to what happened here. The mental health kits, for adults, teens and children, were funded by Direct Relief, the page says, to support community health "in the aftermath of the Eaton Fire." The radon monitors were donated by the California Department of Public Health's Indoor Radon Program and circulate alongside Temtop air quality monitors — a rebuilding neighborhood's diagnostic equipment, on a library card. The blood pressure monitors came from Huntington Health and the American Heart Association. The hiking backpacks carry custom trail guides made with the Altadena Historical Society. The telescope arrives with an astronomy guide, a magnification chart and an instruction manual.

Long Beach lends the laptop and the internet, on the strictest clock

Long Beach Public Library's Tech To-Go is narrower than the others and clearer about consequences. You can borrow a Chromebook, a MiFi hotspot, or both, for three weeks, renewable up to four times. Borrowers must be 18 or older, hold a full-access card and owe less than $20 in fees. Holds are placed through the catalog or by phone, and pickup is at the branch you chose.

Then the enforcement, which the page spells out. An overdue device may be deactivated remotely, and once it is 21 days late the library bills the full replacement cost. Returns can go to any Long Beach location, which is more generous than the county's rule — but not to a book drop: a device left in one, or handed to anybody other than library staff, costs you your Tech To-Go privileges. If you don't have a card yet, the page says to bring a photo ID and proof of a California address to any branch.

Santa Monica lends the thing that lowers a bill

Santa Monica Public Library's kit collection is small and one item in it is unusually practical: a DIY Sustainability Toolkit holding "tools to test energy/water use, plus LED bulbs, aerators, and a low-flow showerhead." That is a utility-bill diagnostic and the hardware to act on it, in one bag, free. The rest of the shelf is Read, Engage, Discover kits for adults, Book Group in a Box for book clubs, and Reading-2-Go early literacy backpacks in three languages.

One honest gap: the city's page doesn't publish a loan period or a borrowing limit for these kits, so check the catalog record for the specific kit before you plan around a date.

The most valuable thing on any of these shelves is a piece of cardboard

The California State Library's Parks Pass is a free vehicle day-use hangtag, checked out like a book, good at more than 200 state park units. The state puts 33,000 of them in California public libraries, and says Californians have checked out 432,208 passes since April 2022. In its own user survey, 64 percent of borrowers said they had not visited state parks because of the day-use fee. LAPL carries the pass and so does Altadena; the state's program page points to a branch finder for the rest.

Read the exclusions before you plan a weekend on one. The pass covers one vehicle carrying nine people or fewer, or one highway-licensed motorcycle. LAPL's page lists what it will not do: it isn't honored at park units run by federal or local government, private agencies or concessionaires, and it isn't valid for per-person entry or tour fees such as museums, boat use, camping, group sites, special events, extra-vehicle fees or sanitation disposal. It is a parking pass, and a good one. It is not a camping reservation.

If you aren't near one of the six tool branches, the alternative costs money

The Los Angeles Tool Library at 3300 Wilshire Blvd. is not a public library and not free. Its FAQ says so before you can ask: an independent nonprofit, unaffiliated with any municipal system, 100 percent volunteer-run, and no, your library card won't work here — the page sends you to the county's tool branches if that's what you wanted. It operates out of the basement of the Immanuel Presbyterian Church in Koreatown, with free lot parking during opening hours if you navigate to 675 S. Berendo St. Hours are Wednesday and Thursday evenings, 6 to 8, and Saturdays, 10 to 2.

What money buys is scale. Members can hold 10 tools at once for 14 days, extendable by another seven if nobody has reserved the tool behind you. We priced membership from the library's own membership page: Community is $10 a month or $80 a year, offered for anyone the standard rate would price out; Standard is $15 a month or $100 a year; Pay-It-Forward is $20 a month or $120 a year and funds Community memberships for other people. The FAQ adds two things the pricing page doesn't: if the fee is a barrier you can volunteer your time for a membership instead, and you bring an ID and proof of address the first time you come in.

Against Malibu or Norwalk at zero dollars, $80 a year looks like a lot. Against six tools for seven days with no renewal and a drive across the county, ten tools for three weeks starts to look like the price of being closer to the hardware.

The rule that catches people, in all five systems

Books move. Things don't. The county won't ship a tool to your nearest branch and requires it back at the branch that owns it, by hand. LAPL's ukuleles and birdwatching backpacks return to the owning branch in person, and its Tech2go devices can't be transferred between locations. Long Beach lets you return a device to any of its libraries but suspends your privileges if it goes in a book drop. Every one of these programs is a hold placed in advance and a trip planned around one specific address, and the failure mode is always the same: the right item, the wrong building.

What to do this week

Start with the card, because September is Library Card Sign-Up Month and LA County Library is running a signup push through it. If you already hold cards, hold more of them — our ranking of six free L.A. library cards lays out which systems will issue to a Californian who lives somewhere else, and each system's things shelf is a separate collection behind its own card.

Then work backward from the object. If you need the drill, check the county's tool catalog and call one of the six branches before you drive. If you need the laptop or the hotspot, place a hold at LAPL or Long Beach and pick the branch you'll actually get back to in three weeks. If you're in Altadena, count the days on your card — the shelf opens at 21. And if the thing you want is a Saturday at a state park, ask for the parks pass at the desk on the way out with everything else.

Programs, loan periods, eligibility rules, branch lists and membership prices above were checked on September 4, 2026 against LA County Library's tool lending page, Los Angeles Public Library's ukulele, birdwatching kit, Tech2go, Neighborhood Science, parks pass and branches pages, the Altadena Library District's Library of Things page, Long Beach Public Library's Tech To-Go page, the City of Santa Monica's library kits page, the California State Library's Parks Pass program page, and the Los Angeles Tool Library's own FAQ and membership pages. Collections rotate and branch lists change without notice; a catalog record beats this page on availability every time. This page is re-verified and updated in place at this address.