If you picture libraries as listless places where you’re likely to be shushed by someone behind a desk, it’s time to get with the decade. Things have changed, seemingly at warp speed, and libraries, those once-staid institutions, have kept up with the times by adding some useful, entertaining and surprising innovations. Here of some of our favorites in metro area libraries.

1. LIBRARY OF THINGS: Need an electric balloon pump for your birthday party but don’t want to buy one? Or a maybe you’d like to try out a telescope? A ukulele? Go to the Jefferson Parish Library of Things, which reaches beyond books to create a community sharing system for things — about 300 of them at last count — that patrons may need only rarely. It’s also a great way to try out products — say, an air fryer o

See Full Page