10 helpful things TWD survivors could have found in the library

Luke was thrilled to find sheet music in the library on The Walking Dead midseason finale but libraries are a great place to find more than just books.

The detour to the library on The Walking Dead’s midseason finale resulted in a thrilling find for Luke. He found sheet music for the Rachmaninov concerto that he loves. He also picked up a Russian -English dictionary so that Eugene can translate the Russian on the satellite parts they scavenged.

Libraries in the apocalypse are very important because the books within them hold the entire history of the human civilization. Art, music, literature, and scientific achievements are all documented in books and in the apocalypse world those books are the last records of the entirety of thousands of years of human civilization.

But modern libraries have a lot more than just books. As culture as shifted and the needs of the communities that libraries serve have changed the items that are offered free of charge by the library have changed too. Or course there are plenty of books, CDs, DVDs, and all types of media. But there’s a lot more too. Now libraries have a library of media and a Library Of Things.

With heightened income disparity the communities came big changes in the types of goods and services that the people who the libraries served needed. That’s when having a Library of Things really began. Libraries, especially in rural areas, stepped in to fill in the gaps and provide all sorts of items that the local community needed in addition to books, CDs, DVDs, and computers and computer access. Even though Michonne was in a hurry to get to Oceanside they should have scored the library for potential finds like these 10 helpful things that many libraries now offer:

Maps

With no more GPS or Internet having a full set of local, state, and country maps would be extremely valuable. Every library should have an atlas as well as a full set of maps in the reference section. Rural libraries often will have detailed topographical and other maps too which would be very useful to the survivors in the communities.

Seeds

The Walking Dead survivors already cleaned out the seed bank at the Smithsonian but they didn’t have to go that far to find seed banks. Many libraries, especially rural libraries, have their own seed banks of both local and heritage fruits and vegetables. The survivors can always use more seeds, and the library seed stock could be a great source for them to start assembling their own seed banks for rough times.

Cooking and Baking Supplies

Pots and pans and bakeware can be expensive. Libraries in low income areas and rural areas now often have a rotating batch of pots, pans, bread pans, cookie sheets, and other cooking and baking supplies that the survivors could raid to make it easier to feed their communities.

Tools

Another household essential that the Library of Things offers is basic tools. The survivors may have been able to find things like drills, drill bits, tool sets, saws, hammers, and other tools that they definitely need to have in the communities and that are probably in pretty short supply.

Musical Instruments

Even though it’s unlikely Luke would find a Stradivarius in a rural Virginia library there are a lot of libraries that have musical instruments that people can borrow. Music education can be life changing for kids but parents who aren’t wealthy may not be able to afford pricey musical instruments even if the child can get lessons for free at school. That’s why libraries have a huge range of musical instruments that people can use.

Fishing Equipment

The Oceanside residents could probably make good use of fishing poles, lures and reels, and tackle boxes full of fishing equipment. Some libraries have a large selection of fishing equipment in house that many people probably wouldn’t be looking for in a library. If the survivors took the time to scour the libraries they could find some really useful items.

Board Games

Life isn’t all just struggle to survive. People need entertainment too. Of course the books in the library are great for entertainment as well as learning but board games would be a fun thing for the communities to have so that groups of survivors could spend time hanging out playing games. Board games also help teach children valuable skills like critical thinking, counting, and resource management. Board games also teach kids skills like patience, cooperation, and how to work as part of a team. All of those are critically important skills in The Walking Dead world.

Hiking And Outdoor Equipment

Some libraries, generally rural libraries, have a selection of hiking and outdoor equipment that people can borrow like hiking clothing, hiking packs, small camping stoves, tents, and much more. Those are supplies that would be very useful in The Walking Dead world.

Canning Equipment

Canning jars, double boilers, thickeners like pectin, and books on canning would make it a lot easier for the survivors to preserve fruits and vegetables for the winter. Making jam from berries, canning fresh vegetables, and canning sauces and other items will give the survivors extra supplies to make sure that they can get through lean winters with plenty of healthy food on hand. Canning is relatively easy to do if you have the right supplies, and some libraries  have those supplies. Because homesteading and off the grid living has become so popular there could be a lot of helpful items for the survivors in a library.

Domestic Equipment

Farm equipment is something that the communities of The Walking Dead rely on, but they also need domestic equipment too and libraries have more than you might think. Old fashioned food pedal sewing machines and supplies, butter churns and pedal mixers, old wash tubs and other domestic equipment are just some of the things that the survivors might be able to find at the library.

Libraries, and Libraries Of Things, have adapted over time and today are more important than even in keeping at risk members of the community connected to the things they need. Have you explored your local library TWDFamily? What odd, unusual, or surprising things have you seen in a library that would be helpful to the survivors on The Walking Dead? Tweet us @SonyaIryna and @UndeadWalkingFS to tell us about your library finds.