Would YOU loan an expensive tool to SOMEONE you did not know? Nice idea....Libraries are re-inventing themselves as Community Centers....I have a friend who works in the system and she says it’s about pulling people in now....they have gathering areas for teens, etc....
No, I would not, I would make sure I knew who they were before I loaned it to them. Rental companies exist today that make money renting out machines costing tens of thousands of dollars to people, it can be done. And the tools may also stay at the librariy, which may transform into something looking more like a garage/laboratory/factory.
My library here in NM offers free WiFi, computer classes, two large children and young adult book sections, a separate room for ancestry tracing, free database access, large DVD/video tape sections.
The library is always busy with patrons of all ages.
Many many thanks to the city and the library board.