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VIC SCHUKOV
When he was a kid, James Reid took piano lessons and played violin in school. One day, a family friend lent me a baritone ukulele which he dabbled with for a couple of months. Then the friend lent him a guitar which he played with a whole summer. At the end, he bought his first guitar, then another, and one thing led to another. A few years ago, a retired gent with decades of musical performance under his belt, Reid transformed a percolating idea into an awesome reality:
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“Not everyone can afford to buy a quality instrument, and not everyone has a family friend who can lend them instruments, so we incorporated Stirling Musical Instruments Lending Library (M.I.L.L) in 2018 and opened the doors in 2019, because we didn’t have one and it seemed like a really good idea.”
The concept of libraries partnering with a musical instrument lender is catching on like wildfire in these parts. The organization’s generous host is the Stirling Public Library which provides a store front operation. M.I.L.L. has over 250 instruments plus a bunch of accessories, all donated to them and growing every day. The M.I.L.L.’s first initiated library partner was Quinte West Public Library. CEO at the time Suzanne Humphreys said:
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“This is such a great fit for us. One of our core objectives as a public library is to support lifelong learning in our community, and this partnership makes it easier for residents to explore a new musical instrument at an affordable price. Of course, libraries are already set up for the loaning procedure, so it’s a win-win.”
Stirling M.I.L.L. to date has 10 libraries on board including Madoc, Marmora, Trent Hills, Brighton, Campbellford, Tweed, and Belleville.
“We always planned to have, exclusively, partner libraries in our service area. Operating on a shoestring from the beginning, like any not for profit operation, it’s hand to mouth. We did our best to set it up, and Stirling was generous in letting us use their system rather than have to buy one ourselves.”
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The reaction from libraries has been nothing short of a snowball effect. According to Reid, when asking a librarian how they would like access to $50,000 dollars worth of musical instruments, their response is like, Where do I sign? It really is a partnership in the true sense of the word, a community initiative.
All of M.I.L.L’s funding comes from community donations, membership fees and thoughtful organizations like the Stirling Lions and Stirling Legion. Even the grandfather organization – Joe’s M.I.L.L. of Kingston – helped out with donations of instruments and a lot of information on how to do this thing. Stirling Musical Instruments Lending Library welcomes donations for their collection which includes:
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Guitars (acoustic and electric): bass guitars, mandolins, banjos, ukuleles.
Keyboards, synthesizers, accordions.
Drums and percussion instruments (all kinds and sizes): drum kits, cymbals, cowbells, conga, djembes and cajons, tambourines and shakers.
Electronics: amplifiers, pedals, mixers, speakers, microphones, cables.
Orchestral instruments: violins, violas, cellos, basses.
Band instruments: brass and woodwinds.
Accessories of all kinds: tuners, music stands, instrument stands, capos, drumsticks/brushes, music books, and sheet music.
How it all works:
• Register as a M.I.L.L. patron at your local library: $30 per year, six-week loan period.
• Go to the M.I.L.L. website, and pick what you want from the catalogue, and if available put it on hold. The library is automatically notified.
• Then, you send an email saying who and where you are and where to deliver.
• The next time the shipmen is going to your library (weekly,) they deliver it there and email you for pick up.
“Rule #1 is, if we’re not having fun, we’re not doing it right. As with music, certainly, this applies to everything in life.”
The Stirling Musical Instrument Lending Library (M.I.L.L) is located on the upper floor of the Stirling-Rawdon Public Library at 43 West Front Street, Stirling. Visit https://stirlingmill.ca/ and Facebook
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