Original source: Postmedia network
You’re going to loan your circular saw to someone you don’t know. And that person is going to let someone else use it and the saw is going to keep getting passed around until literally dozens of people have used it, in order to tackle one project or another. And you couldn’t be happier.
That’s because you’ve donated the saw to your local tool library, one of hundreds maybe even thousands, that are springing up around the world. Many of these sharing initiatives go well beyond shop tools, loaning everything from gardening implements, to sports equipment to games. All in the spirit of fostering a greater sense of community and the idea that if we want to live in a more sustainable world, perhaps we should buy less for personal use and share more for the greater good.
As a volunteer at the Toronto Tool Library, Roger Chow has a first-hand perspective on the gift of sharing. “A lot of us volunteer to help run the place and also to have access to the tools and the safety course, which you have to take in order to use the Makerspace.” The Makerspace is a work area on steroids with everything from a full woodworking shop (including table saws, joiners, planers, band saws and chop saws) to a laser cutter to 3D printers at the cooperative’s Danforth location. There are additional locations on Queen Street West and St. Clair West and amongst the three, well over 5,000 tools members can sign out in much the same way they would borrow a book from the library.
Founder Ryan Dyment turned his back on a CA career five years ago to launch the non-profit initiative, inspired by a similar project in Berkley, California. He was motivated by the fact that many city residents can’t afford to equip a full-blown workshop for their home, nor do they have the space. “We have a bunch of reasons (for launching the tool library) starting with saving people money. But also reducing waste. We have finite resources and a lot of the tools we buy, we rarely use but the materials still have to be mined and manufactured, which requires a lot of energy.” In contrast, with their cooperative “for less than the cost of one piece of equipment, you can have access to thousands of tools.”
Recognizing that community needs go beyond shop tools, Dyment also helped to get The Sharing Depot off the ground, a sister sharing initiative with inventory ranging from camping and sports equipment to party supplies, toys and games. “Games and toys are really popular with families,” remarks volunteer Chow. “You see them coming and going all the time. This year, we also had a lot of people doing last minute gardening who were taking out rakes and similar tools. I think members really do have a sense of community and they appreciate that what we’re doing leaves a smaller footprint.”
The basic annual membership fee for the Toronto Tool library or the Sharing Depot is a surprisingly modest $55, or $85 for both. In return, members get a period of 3-7 days to use the item (depending on what’s being borrowed and level of membership), as well as safety training, access to additional onsite skills training (for nominal fees) and use of the Makerspace. As a way to introduce potential new members to the library, they also host Free Community Nights every Wednesday at the Danforth location from 7-10 p.m.
In the spirit of not only borrowing, but giving, from now until the end of the holiday season, Dyment says they’re offering a 2 for 1 membership sale and as he puts it “a great opportunity to give someone a zero waste gift.” As well, in partnership with Greenpeace Canada, the Tool Library is holding their annual holiday gift swap on Saturday, December 16 at the Centre for Social Innovation at 720 Bathurst Street, where registrants can bring new or gently used ‘giftable items’ to exchange for items of comparable value.
The underlying principal of the Tool Library, the Sharing Depot and events such as the Holiday Gift Swap, in Dyment’s view “is to share with our community and give people access to things that are already in abundance in the city. The more tools and tool libraries we have, the more accessible these things will be. And by becoming a member or donating tools, it enables us to do more of the same work.” In the spirit of giving back, it’s a concept that really is worth sharing.
Images Credit: Toronto Tool Library