September is Library Card Sign-up Month, and there are so many ways that you can use your library card at the Romeo District Library. One of them is to check out items from our Library of Things at the Graubner Branch, but did you know that the library lent out objects like a record player as early as the 1950s?
Today's photo proves that the Romeo District Library (known as the Romeo Public Library at that time) certainly had them back then. The front page of the July 3, 1958 issue of The Romeo Observer Press displayed this very picture. It shows Romeo Public Librarian Mrs. Iva Ingersoll accepting a new record player from Mrs. James Phillips.
The caption mentioned that the item in question came from the local Girl Scouts and Brownies. It also asserted that the object was to be lent out to "any responsible individual or group."
Since the Romeo Library was only the library building in downtown Romeo (the Kezar Branch these days), the record player was kept there. Even though that item is not part of the current Library of Things, the following are:
- A sewing machine
- A GoPro HERO 10 Action Camera
- Mobile hotspots
- A Blue Yeti X USB Condenser Microphone
- A Kodak Slide N SCAN Film and Slide Scanner
- A Video2Digital Converter 2.0
- A graphing calculator
- A portable waterproof bluetooth speaker
- A portable Blu-ray & DVD player
- A portable CD player
- Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) Classic Edition
- Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) Classic Edition
The film and slide scanner as well as the digital converter are great items to use for preserving precious photos and home movies.
Having fun isn't hard when you got a library card. Come and get yours today!
To learn more about the Romeo District Library's history, you can contact the Romeo Community Archives at rca@romemodistrictlibrary.org or call (586) 690-4890 to check out the Romeo District Library Collection. If you want to search for articles on that topic, you can find the Romeo newspapers on the Suburban Library Cooperative's Local History Digital Collection website.
Images and sources courtesy of the Romeo Community Archives; Melvin E. and Joan D. Bleich Collection, The Romeo Observer Press, July 3, 1958, p.A-1