At Forbes Library in MA, Circulating Ukulele Is a Hit

Norman Oder -- Library Journal, 11/3/2008

• Music store owner donated inexpensive instrument
• Waiting list now at 24
• So far, everyone’s taken good care of it

For nearly two months, the Forbes Library of Northampton, MA, has been inviting library users to “Borrow a ukulele!” and they’ve done just that: the waiting list for the donated instrument now stands at 24.

“People have commented they enjoyed it a lot and are very pleased we are making it available,” said Faith Kaufmann, who heads the library’s Arts & Music department.

Joe Blumenthal, who owns the local music store Downtown Sounds, donated the Hawaiian instrument. “As a music retailer, it's my job to spread the joy of music and playing music far and wide,” he said. “Because the ukulele is small, relatively inexpensive and relatively easy to play, it's an ideal instrument for someone who thinks they might like to start playing.
 
(He’s pictured in the center of the photograph, flanked by library staffers Benjamin Kalish, left, and Jason Mazzotta.) 

Any library card holder in 6th grade or older can check out the ukulele for three weeks and then renew it once. “If someone loses or damages it, or the instructional DVD, we will charge for replacement the same as with other circulating materials,” Kaufmann told LJ. It is worth about $50, on a par with many audiobooks, for example. So far patrons have taken excellent care of it.”

While the uke is listed in the library’s catalog, most people have learned about it from posters, press releases and the library web site, Kaufmann said. And while the instrument may seem to be a novelty, she pointed to several recent examples of its popularity, including ukulele virtuouso Jake Shimabukuro.