For years the Library of Things at 245 Lake Street was mostly a backyard shelf with croquet, cornhole, ladder ball, lawn darts and a disc golf set. This fall the Upper Saddle River Library added a knife sharpener, a paper shredder, a tire inflater and a pair of binoculars, plus a large Connect 4 lawn game for the old crowd. Four of the five are household tools, the kind of thing you might need once a season for an afternoon's work. The rules on this shelf were written for a small collection with a waiting list, so the borrowers who get the most from it reserve first and walk in second.
What arrived with the fall newsletter
The Fall 2026 newsletter puts the five additions under the heading "New Additions to the Library of Things!" It describes the collection as "physical items for loan that expands the boundaries of traditional library materials." The same issue announced that Sunday hours were back, 1 to 5 p.m. starting September 13. It also introduced a children's Social Emotional Learning collection and new shelves of Spanish- and Korean-language books for adults, across from the study rooms.
On the collection's own page, the newest entries have fresh photos, among them a knife sharpener posed beside a tomato, the binoculars, two Toniebox audio players and a board game listed simply as the "Upper Saddle River Game." The page gives no further description of that last one. The card in the catalog says only that the borough has a game named after it, and that you can borrow it.
The whole shelf, sorted by what you'd use it for
The library's catalog is alphabetical. The table below groups the same items by use. The grouping is ours, because the library doesn't label which items count as "indoor" or "outdoor." That label matters, as the next section explains.
| Use | Items on the library's list |
|---|---|
| Household tools | Knife Sharpener, Shredder, Tire Pump, Binoculars |
| Lawn and driveway | Backyard Jenga, Badminton Rackets and Net, Bowling Ball Set, Cornhole Set, Croquet Set, Disc Golf Set, Giant Connect Four, Ladder Ball Toss, Lawn Darts, Net, pickleball set, Ring Toss, Volleyball |
| Table games | Apples to Apples, Checkers, Chess, Clue, Connect Four, Guess Who, Hedbanz, Monopoly, Twister, Upper Saddle River Game |
| For the youngest readers | Candyland, Dog Man Game, Don't Break The Ice, Eric Carle Matching Game, Pete The Cat, Zoo Crew Animal Matching Game, Toniebox Disney in blue, Toniebox National Geographic in green |
| Music | Victrola Vintage 3-speed Bluetooth Portable Record Player |
The four tools sit in a collection that is otherwise almost all play. The library says it picks Things "based on the needs and interests of Library patrons" and takes purchase suggestions by email at [email protected]. The policy also warns that "items that are not popular and do not circulate may be withdrawn from the collection." So whether the tools stay depends on how often people borrow them.
The rules assume someone else is waiting
The ordinary library card habits don't carry over to this shelf. Here is what the Library of Things policy sets out:
| Rule | What the library states |
|---|---|
| Who can borrow | A valid adult Upper Saddle River Library card, age 18 and older, in good standing with no outstanding fines, fees or overdue material |
| How many | One indoor game and one outdoor game at a time, per family |
| Checkout | In person at the Circulation Desk, with a lending agreement signed at checkout |
| Loan period | Seven days with one renewal, unless noted |
| Renewal catch | No renewal if another patron has a hold on the item |
| Holds | By phone or by email to [email protected] |
| Returns | In person to the Circulation Desk only; not the book drop, not another library |
| Wrong-library return | $25 fee |
| Late fee | $5 per day, capped at $25 |
| Damage or missing parts | Replacement charge added to the card; full replacement cost for anything lost or returned unusable |
The per-family limit matters most. Because the library counts by household, a family that already has the croquet set out for a fall weekend may find its outdoor slot taken. The page doesn't say which slot a knife sharpener or tire pump uses, so ask at the desk when you place the hold.
Fines are the other surprise. The library has gone fine-free on ordinary materials, but its fine-free FAQ leaves Things out of that relief. A shredder kept a week too long costs the full $25 cap. That's real money, and a bigger risk than an overdue novel.
The policy also says plainly that this is "a lending program ONLY. Library staff is not available for instruction in the use of Things." Staff will hand over the tire inflater, but they won't show you how to use it.
Why the return window shapes the borrow
Things can't go in the book drop, so every return happens while the library is open. The current hours on the library's contact page are:
- Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
- Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Sunday, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Saturday is a four-hour window. Sunday was closed until September 13 and is now open 1 to 5 p.m. For a weekend project that runs into Sunday afternoon, that's the difference between returning on time and paying $5 on Monday morning.
In practice, a smooth borrow looks like this:
- Email [email protected] or call 201-327-2583 to put the item on hold, and ask whether it counts as your family's indoor or outdoor slot.
- Pick it up in person with the adult card, and plan a few minutes to sign the lending agreement.
- Check that every part is in the original container before you leave, because staff inspect Things on return.
- Plan the return for a day the library is open into the evening, Monday through Thursday, or use the Sunday afternoon hours.
The same logic runs through the library's other loans
The Library of Things isn't the only collection run on reservations and short loans. Adult cardholders in good standing can borrow museum passes for the American Museum of Natural History, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, the Guggenheim, the Intrepid Air, Sea and Space Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, the Museum of the Moving Image, the New York Historical Society and Storm King Art Center. That's one pass per household for up to three days and two nights. Passes can be reserved up to 60 days ahead through Museum Key or with a librarian, and they don't renew. They also go back to staff during business hours, never into the book drop. The late fine is $25 a day, and full replacement cost is due after seven days. If you want a Storm King weekend in December, the 60-day window opens in October.
Two other loans follow the same pattern. Wireless hotspots go out for two weeks to cardholders over 18. Kindle Paperwhite eReaders preloaded with popular titles lend for one week from the Circulation Desk. Laptops stay in the building, for 60 minutes to start, 30 more if no one is waiting, and 90 minutes a day at most.
Every adult card in all of this is free to Upper Saddle River residents and property taxpayers, through the BCCLS system, according to the library's FAQ.
Pickup windows on the November and December calendar
A pickup is easier when you're already at Lake Street for something else. Here is what's scheduled after this week, from the Fall 2026 newsletter and the library's event pages:
- Wednesday, November 4, 7 p.m.: Travel Club and Novels at Night
- Thursday, November 5: a 1 p.m. screening of The Devil Wears Prada 2, then Olive Oil Tasting with Olive R. Twist at 7 p.m.
- Saturday, November 7, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.: Friends of the Library book sale
- Tuesday, November 10, 10 and 11 a.m.: Tai Chi and Qi Gong, registration required
- Thursday, November 12: Coffee Talk, and Dungeons & Dragons from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.
- Monday, November 16: Get Lit(erary)
- Thursday, November 19, 4 p.m.: Battle Chefs for USR cardholders in grades 6 through 12, registration required
- Wednesday, December 2, 7 p.m.: Novels at Night
- Saturday, December 5, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.: the second Friends book sale
- Tuesday, December 8: Tai Chi and Qi Gong again, at 10 and 11 a.m.
- Wednesdays through December 16, 9:30 a.m.: Drop-In Little Ones Storytime for ages 0 to 3 with a caregiver, with no class on November 11 or November 25
Between the two book sales, the lobby also has a cash-only shelf with titles at $1. On the Saturday of a sale, the library opens at 10 a.m. and the sale runs to 1 p.m., an hour before closing. That leaves time to put back a croquet set, shop the tables and pick up the knife sharpener you reserved earlier in the week.
If the shredder is coming home because a drawer holds decades of closing papers and estate files, that's often the first quiet step in planning a sale. Sheryl Epstein-Romano can help you decide which documents to keep for that conversation and which can go. Request a confidential consultation.