Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
Based on principles and practices of resource use reduction, sharing, conviviality, solidarity, and mutual aid, the Brisbane Tool Library can be considered a small-scale laboratory for a reorientation of society towards degrowth.
Diplock sees a distinction between The Thingery and much of the recently monetized sharing economy, however, especially rental services. “The big line in the sand is, is accessibility and inclusivity a key part of the social purpose? Is that present in the business charter?”
The Share Shed is a library of things in the town of Totnes in the southwest of the UK (also home to the Transition Town network). People can donate useful items to the library – like ladders, drills, carpet cleaners, camping, cooking and gardening equipment, and sewing machines – and others can borrow them for an affordable fee.
Libraries of Things are both starting to expand to multiple locations, and also connecting with other similar or complementary organizations to form local and regional networks.
The West Philly Tool Library was founded in 2007 to help make home repairs and maintenance more accessible and affordable for local residents. The library offers more than 4,000 tools to its more than 2,600 members, who pay for membership on a sliding scale.
This spring, Vancouverites may find renting a set of camping equipment as easy as borrowing a book from the library. The Thingery project is a recent initiative launched by Vancouver Tool Library founder Chris Diplock.
The Toronto Tool Library in Ontario, Canada, is a model tool lending program. With four locations and a variety of workshops and community events, it is a pioneer of the lending and sharing movement.
The Library of Things movement is emerging in communities around the world.
Running out of a Dr. Who-style police box near the city’s docks, the Edinburgh Tool Library has been going since early 2015 and now has 1,200 tools, 180 members, and is growing fast.
What if the next time you needed a sewing machine, or screen printer, or even a GoPro camera, you just went down to your public library and borrowed it?
“It’s amazing to see how positively people react to the idea of a tool library, and crowdfunding provides the ideal way to get the word out and raise money to get one started. Crowdfunding provides a way for communities to gauge support, and if that support is there—which it often is—it gives them the momentum and resources to hit the ground running.”
No longer just places to get a drill when you need one, tool libraries are neighborhood hubs offering classes, community building spaces, workshops and a variety of tools ranging from belt sanders to lawnmowers and more.
