You may have heard about the new Response Hub coming to the High Street thanks to the National Lottery Supporting Communities Fund. Services will be run by Crieff ConneXions and this venue will also be the home for Remake’s new Crieff Community Tool Library.
What is a Tool Library?
It’s a way of sharing resources that people find useful occasionally but don’t need all the time. Some examples of that might be tools for DIY projects or a sewing machine; a pressure washer or a carpet cleaner; specialist cookware or even an electric bike!
It operates like a traditional book lending library. By becoming a member, you can have access to things you sometimes need or want to use without spending lots of money and without having to find space for it in your home.
Most of us are familiar with the idea of toy libraries which began in the USA around 1935; the first tool library was established in Ohio in 1976. More recently, sharing resources is a concept which has been gathering momentum as people consider their impact on the environment. Over the last few months, being faced with a virus to which we are all vulnerable has brought home the importance, and pleasure, of a strong community.
By sharing resources we can all save money, save space, save time, contribute to saving the planet and make our community stronger and more resilient.
- Save Money
We might all need to have a small basic tool kit in our homes, but when it comes to larger, more expensive items can we really justify the expense when, for example, the average drill in the UK is used for only 13 minutes in its lifetime? For the cost of your membership, you will have access to hundreds of useful items – some of which you may never have thought about using. Perhaps you’d like to try out a new hobby or tackle an upcycling project? The Library of Things is a fantastic low-cost way to keep your home in good repair or to develop your creativity and try out new interests.
- Save Space
When they’re not in use, tools and other rarely used items take up a lot of space. If not stored correctly, some things might go rusty or get wrecked in other ways. And who hasn’t ended up buying something again, thinking it’s been chucked out, only to discover it hidden at the back of a cupboard or in the loft? Borrowing from the Library of Things will save space in your home for the things you love and use more often.
- Save Time
When you own your own tools, it’s all too easy to procrastinate and put off tackling those niggly little jobs. When you borrow from the library, you will have a fixed amount of time before the item has to be returned. Inevitably, this will help you to focus on finishing the task. You’ll end up achieving much more and – bonus – you’ll feel great!
- Saving the Planet
How does a Tool Library contribute to saving the planet? By not buying brand new items, we reduce the amount of virgin resources being extracted from the earth and save the energy that goes into producing them. Think about how wasteful it is to have items sitting gathering dust in cupboards, lofts and garages which could be put to good use.
- Building Community
In tandem with the Tool Library, we hope to run monthly Repair Cafés where people will be able to gather to fix their own broken items rather than sending them to landfill. As well as tools and materials, we will have expert volunteers on hand to share their knowledge and skills. Belonging to a Tool Library like this, and taking part in the Repair Cafés, gives you a chance to get to know other people in our community. You can discuss your projects, help each other out and, possibly, form lasting friendships.
Opening
The Crieff Community Tool Library will be open every Thursday at 19 High Street (next to Subway) from 11am – 6pm from Thursday 6 August. There will be an initial 2 month trial period where you can borrow tools for free. From 1 Oct it will still be completely free to borrow tools but annual membership will cost £15 per year. You can also “Pass It On” by purchasing a £30 membership as a community share for those not able to afford. Donating a tool worth more than £20 to the community library would entitle you to a one-year membership as a thank you from us. Donations also help with the cost of repairing tools. And the exciting news is that from 1 October an extra benefit will be access to the Remake Scrapstore Sale Days.
Tools and items can be viewed at any time online by visiting https://crieffcommunitytoollibrary.myturn.com/
Simply create a membership profile which will allow you to view and reserve any of the items in the tool library.
Items can be borrowed for a week (from one Thursday to the next) but they can be renewed up to two times as long as there isn’t a high demand for a particular item (e.g a lawnmower in the summer etc) The important thing for us is that you continue to use the tool library for the benefit of our community.
If you would like to know more about the Crieff Community Tool Library, donate an unwanted tool or volunteer at a future repair café event, please contact beth@remakescotland.co.uk.
Have you heard the lengths our staff go to support our amazing projects? Beth is leading the Crieff Community Tool Library due to open Thu 6 Aug. This Couch to 5K fundraiser will help buy more library stuff – sewing machines to play equipment to drills! https://www.gofundme.com/f/remake-team-couch-to-5k
