It was back in the summer of 2012 when one of the unassuming sheds behind the library found a higher purpose: as a storage room for medical equipment to be lent to members of the community in times of need. Previously, this equipment was housed and leant out by Adrienne Lawson and Massoud Najare, but when they put the call out for someone else to take over the service, the library stepped-up. Since then, Chief Librarian Tina Nielsen and library volunteers have attended to the Med Shed in the same way they attend to books: they help members of the community find what they need, whether it be child-sized crutches, an elevated toilet seat or a walker, and put them away neatly when they’re done.
Neilsen says the size of the Med Shed’s collection has grown significantly since 2012 even though items that are too worn or no longer in good shape are discarded as necessary.
“Sandy Logan comes here about once a year to go through everything and ensure that it is all fit for use,” says Nielsen. “We’re not medical people, so we don’t necessarily know what’s good or not.”
She adds that donations keep coming in, and they accept all kinds of medical equipment, except for things that are made of soft fabric and hard to wash. According to library records, the Med Shed was accessed an average of five times per week in 2014.
“I think there are still a lot of people who don’t know about us,” says Nielsen. “But more and more, we are getting calls from people before they go in to the hospital asking about a piece of equipment they might need after surgery. Otherwise, people might have to purchase a piece of equipment they could easily get for free here on Bowen.”
