The Tool Library
Most homes have a drill, a ladder or a lawnmower that is used only a few times a year. For the rest of the time, these tools sit in a cupboard or a garage and take up space. In the small town of Harwick, a group of neighbours decided that this was a waste of money and materials. In 2019 they opened a tool library, a place where people can borrow tools in the same way that they borrow books. The idea is simple: if everyone shares, nobody needs to buy a tool that they will only use once.
The idea started with a retired carpenter called Peter Lyle. After he moved into a smaller flat, he had nowhere to keep his large collection of equipment. Instead of selling it, he offered it to the local community centre. The centre agreed to give him one empty room, and a few volunteers built shelves along the walls. On the first day there were only 85 items, and most of them were his own.
Today the library has more than 600 tools, from simple hammers to electric saws and garden machines. There are also some unusual items, such as a machine for making pasta and a large tent for parties. Nearly all of them were donated by local people who no longer needed them. Members pay a small fee of 20 pounds a year, and they can borrow up to three items at a time for one week. If they need a tool for longer, they can renew it online, unless another member is waiting for it. Children under 16 cannot become members, but they may use the library with a parent.
The library is open on Thursday evenings and Saturday mornings. It is run completely by volunteers, and many of them are older people with practical skills. Before a member takes home a dangerous machine, such as a chainsaw, a volunteer explains how to use it safely. According to the volunteers, this short lesson is often the most popular part of the service, because many younger members have never used these tools before. Some volunteers also give advice on small home projects, such as putting up shelves or painting a room.
Not everything has gone smoothly. In the first year, about one in ten tools came back late, and some were returned dirty or broken. At first, the volunteers were not sure what to do. The volunteers solved most of these problems by sending a text message reminder the day before an item is due. They also started a repair evening once a month, when members bring broken items and learn to fix them together. Now fewer than three per cent of tools are returned late.
The tool library has also changed the way people in the town think about owning things. A survey of members found that most of them had bought fewer new tools since joining. Many people said that they had also met neighbours they had never spoken to before. Because of this success, two nearby towns are now planning to open libraries of their own, and the Harwick team has written a free guide to help them get started.
