Borrowing Instead of Buying: The Rise of Tool Libraries
Most households own a drill, but studies of home use suggest that the average drill is switched on for only a few minutes in its entire life. For many people, this is a clear sign of waste. Buying a tool that will spend years sitting in a cupboard costs money, takes up space and uses materials that could have been put to better use. Over the past two decades, a simple solution has spread to towns and cities in many countries: the tool library.
A tool library works in much the same way as a book library. Members pay a small yearly fee, usually less than the price of a single new hammer, and in return they can borrow equipment for a fixed period, often one week. The collection may include ladders, saws, sewing machines, garden equipment and even camping gear. Most libraries are run by volunteers and are based in rooms that local councils or schools are not using. Because they depend on donated items, no two collections are exactly the same.
One small library in a northern port town shows how these projects often begin. In 2015, a retired carpenter called Tomas Rell noticed that his garage was full of tools he no longer needed. Instead of selling them, he invited neighbours to borrow them for free. Within a year, more than two hundred people had signed up, and Rell had to move the collection into an empty shop. Today the library has around 1,800 items and opens three evenings a week. Rell says the most popular item is not a power tool at all but a simple wheelbarrow, which is borrowed almost every day in spring.
Supporters argue that tool libraries bring several benefits. The most obvious is financial: borrowing a pressure washer for a weekend costs nothing for members, while buying one could cost a month's food budget for a low-income family. There are also environmental gains, since fewer tools need to be manufactured and fewer broken ones end up in landfill. However, many volunteers say the social side is just as important. Members often stay to chat, share advice about repairs or offer to help each other with larger jobs. One member, a young teacher who had just moved into her first flat, says that by borrowing instead of buying she saved enough in her first year to pay for a short holiday. In this way, the library becomes a meeting place as well as a store.
Running a library is not without problems. Tools are sometimes returned late, dirty or damaged, and replacing an expensive item can use up a large part of the yearly budget. To reduce these risks, many libraries ask new members to attend a short safety session before they borrow anything with a motor or a blade. Some also keep a small deposit for high-value items. Finding enough volunteers is another challenge, especially in summer, when demand is highest but many helpers are away on holiday.
Despite these difficulties, the idea continues to grow. Several libraries now offer evening workshops where members can learn basic skills, such as fixing a bicycle puncture or putting up a shelf. Others have started lending kitchen equipment, children's toys or musical instruments, and a few run monthly repair evenings where broken household items are fixed by volunteers rather than thrown away. According to the organisers, the aim is not to stop people buying things altogether, but to make them ask a simple question before they shop: do I really need to own this, or do I only need to use it?
