It was just a couple of years ago when a small group of friends had the idea to start a tool library (also known as a Library of Things) in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, U.S. The idea was exciting, but creating a thriving sharing hub felt daunting. So they began looking for available resources to help them get started and found the Tool Library Alliance (TLA), which unites tool libraries across the U.S. to foster community resilience, increase sustainability, and build a culture of generosity through the sharing of tools, skills, and knowledge. It was during a TLA workshop that they learned about Shareable’s comprehensive Library of Things Toolkit, a step-by-step guide for anyone to start a sharing project, regardless of a person’s background.
Libraries of Things (LoTs) are community-based systems that make it easier for people to borrow, share, and collectively steward physical resources. LoTs follow the traditional mechanics of a public library while pushing the boundaries of what can be borrowed: tools, sewing machines, emergency supplies, and much more! LoTs are more than tool-sharing; they often become critical community resilience hubs and “third spaces.”
The organizers in Harrisburg started with the goal of raising an initial $15,000 in lifetime tool library memberships to secure a space for their tool library. Veronica Adams, one of the Harrisburg Tool Library’s co-founders and its current vice president, said the toolkit’s templates and examples made this task much easier: “I’ve never done a membership model before. Being able to just copy from the toolkit was so helpful.” Fellow co-founder and President Kate Lally echoed how helpful the toolkit was, “It was like a best friend holding my hand through the opening of our tool library.”
And the team in Harrisburg isn’t alone; another group of local organizers used the Library of Things Toolkit to start the Northeastern Tool Library (NeTL) in Keeseville, New York. “Instead of feeling like we were starting from scratch in an isolated silo, we felt connected to a whole network of people who had already been there who could help us along the way. A physical copy of the toolkit lives in the tool library, and the NeTL team continues to refer to it often!” said Morgan Ingraham and Lindsay Eberhart, from the Institute for Sustainability Engagement and who helped create and manage the NeTL.Morgan and Lindsay printed out their own copy of the original Library of Things Toolkit. When the Shareable team heard this, we knew we wanted to offer a printed book version of the expanded second edition of the toolkit