NORTHEAST TOWN—The Northeastern Manitoulin and the Islands (NEMI) Public Library is not your parents’ repository of books of facts and fiction. Libraries these days have expanded onto the internet, become a place to explore a plethora of audio and visual offerings and, most recently become a place where you can borrow a roto tiller, a 3D printer, engravers and embroidery or serger machines. The sky, it seems, is the limit.
Now, the NEMI library offers the opportunity to try out a theremin or a concertina, a JUNO synthesizer, a lyre, a violin, various drums and many other instruments.
Unfortunately, no wind instruments are included due to health considerations, but the list of what is available is impressive.
What is a theremin, you might well ask? It is an instrument where you interact with the instrument’s electromagnetic field and the oscillations of the theremin get disrupted. The closer their hand is to the vertical antenna, the higher the pitch, while the closer proximity to the horizontal one decreases the volume. The resulting signals are then amplified and sent to a speaker. The result is a sound that would be right at home on a 1970s progressive rock album—downright groovy.
In order to borrow any of the new musical equipment you must be a member of the library in good standing for six months. Most items have a seven-day loan period and not all of the instruments can be lent out. Usually, one item per borrower is the limit (exceptions can be made for interrelated items).
It is definitely worth stopping in to the library to discover all of the interesting things that lie in wait. Oh, and don’t be too worried, there are still plenty of books, including large print and audio offerings on hand as well.
Libraries just keep getting better and better.
