CORONAVIRUS

Guernsey County Public Library adds drones to circulation collection

KRISTI R. GARABRANDT
The Daily Jeffersonian
Mary Jane Rhodes, children's assistant at the Byesville branch of the Guernsey County Public Library system shows the new drone now available for check out from library.

The Guernsey County Public Library which already offers expedition kits, Wi-Fi hotspots, Wonderbooks and Launchpads has now added drones to its list of unconventional items available for patrons to check out.

The drones, which became available for check out on Aug. 14, are just another way the library is expanding services to Guernsey County residents. 

The drones are available for check out by adults with library cards in good standing for a two-week period. Like the other electronics offered by the library, the check out of drones is not able to renewed. 

According to Luke Bentley, assistant director, Guernsey County Public Library, patrons checking out the drones can learn about them and experience how the modern marvels fly.

“This is something we’re very excited about,” Bentley said. “We always want to try and push the boundaries of traditional library service by providing our community with new opportunities, and these drones are no exception.”

There are a total of three drones available, one at each branch — Downtown, Crossroads and Byesville. 

If a drone is unavailable, a patron can place a hold on it to check out once returned.  

According to Bentley, if someone wanted to check one out from the Crossroads branch and it was already checked out they could pull one, if available, from another branch.

Bentley doesn’t expect the drones to be kept out by many for the full two-week period, because flight time of the drone with a charged battery is about 15 minutes.

“You don’t get a ton of flight time, but they are very satisfying to fly,” Bentley said.

Before checking out a drone, as with the other electronics in the library’s circulation collection, patrons will have to sign a form. The form goes through the cost of the drone and the cost of the individual parts to it. The form also notes that any legal liability, such as damage to someone's property, lies with the borrower and not the library and also that if a patron damages the drone they will be required to pay the replacement cost of the drone or any parts that are damaged.

According to Bentley, drones weighing more than 250 grams need to be licensed, so the library went with drones that weigh less than 250 grams to avoid needing to deal with licensure, and the lightness of the drones are not likely to cause damage if someone crashes one into something.

The drones were purchased from the library budget at a cost of $89.99 each. Additionally, the library purchased totes to circulate them in and extra batteries. Bentley estimated that the total cost was approximately $350.

“We just went ahead and we decided that we needed to move forward with some more cutting-edge stuff to circulate and we decided to invest in them (the drones) ourselves,” Bentley said. “We just took it straight from the budget and we are very happy to have done it.” 

Bentley noted that the drones they selected are beginner appropriate and not super complicated to use. 

Tutorials on drone use are something the library has considered, Bentley said. They are looking into doing something through video right now since they are not doing in-person programming during the pandemic. 

Once out of the pandemic, Bentley foresees drones being very essential in the library’s line of programming and classes and things like that.

“Expect more innovations as the library continues to move into the future of librarianship,” Bentley said. 

Mary Jane Rhodes, children's assistant at the Byesville branch of the Guernsey County Public Library shows the new drone now available for check out from the library.