Published 8:00 am Saturday, May 23, 2026
By Tom Zillich
Some of the items in Surrey Libraries’ Tech to Go collection. (website screenshot)
CO₂ (carbon dioxide) monitor free to borrow from Surrey Libraries’ Tech to Go collection. (Contributed to Surrey Now-Leader)
Surrey public libraries have a growing number of tech gadgets to check out including new CO₂ (carbon dioxide) monitors.
The Surrey Libraries website shows a Tech To Go collection of eight different items, all free to borrow.
Gadgets include Bee-Bot Robots, Dash robot kits, energy meters, video-capture digital converters (for VCR-to-computer plug-in), audio tape converters and podcast-ready zoom recorders. In-branch only, Chromebook computers can be borrowed for three hours at Clayton, Fleetwood, Guildford and Newton libraries.
The new CO₂ monitors check indoor air quality and beep when it’s time to open a window or step outside. “Designed as an educational tool, the monitor helps users better understand how indoor air quality changes throughout the day,” the website says.
The monitors, which can be borrowed for 21 days, are available for pickup at Surrey Libraries branches. “All copies in use,” the website indicated May 22. “18 copies, 14 on hold.”
Visit surreylibraries.ca/books-media/tech-go to see and reserve items in the Tech to Go collection.
Meantime, Surrey teens can join a Teen Library Council (TLC) to become a youth ambassador for Surrey Libraries. Applications are now open, and each branch will close applications as the program fills up (closing July 2, 2026).
There are six TLCs in the system, at City Centre, Clayton-Cloverdale, Fleetwood, Guildford, Newton-Strawberry Hill and Semiahmoo-Ocean Park.
TLC members give back to their community by planning events and advising the library of library services that are meaningful to the teen community,” says the Surrey Libraries website says, where requirements and more details are posted (surreylibraries.ca/services/teens/teen-library-council).
TLC members will receive volunteer hours for attending meetings and leading programs. Meetings are held September to June on various days of the week.
In other news, Surrey Libraries has announced a new partnership with Surrey Memorial Hospital to support families with babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).
The Gentle Start Library project provides each of the NICU units at SMH with a collection of board books, giving families access to engaging literacy activities for all ages during their stay at the hospital.
The initiative aims to share “the joy of early literacy and foster a sense of belonging for families as they look ahead to life after the NICU.”