They Wanted to Share the Tools in their Garage. Now, All of Minneapolis is In on It.

When Thomas was moving his family from Portland, Oregon, to Minneapolis, Minnesota, he started his housing search by looking to locate near a tool library in his new town. But where he eventually settled—northeast Minneapolis—there was none. His new neighborhood was filled with a lot of older homes—and a lot of renovation projects. In a lucky turn of fate, Thomas’s new neighbors introduced him to Zachary, a fellow tool enthusiast who also wanted to start a tool library. They both knew friends and neighbors who needed equipment to make their home improvement dreams come true.

So they put the word out: send us your tools.

But they couldn’t have predicted the tide of tools that people donated—and the swell of interest in the new idea. It took nearly a year, but the Northeast Minneapolis Tool Library opened on May 2, 2015 with enough funding for a year, staff for the library, a logo and website, a dedicated space and an inventory of tools from its first tool drive. And still, the donations keep coming.

In some ways, starting a tool library is all about stopping waste. Says board member Carolyn Collopy: “So many people buy tools for a specific project and after the project is finished, never use them again. A lot of resources go into making tools that sit in people’s homes and garages gathering dust. The tool library allows people access without the burden of expense and storage. Like it says on our website, ‘Access Over Ownership.’”

She continues, “The tool library also connects people. We help people who have skills to share meet their neighbors who need the knowledge or confidence to take on a home repair project. Like the Story of Stuff movies, the tool library is a living example of how our communities are stronger without all of the stuff that our society perpetually pushes us to purchase and throw away.”

As for Thomas, the tool library quickly exceeded his expectations. In less than a year, it had almost 200 members and an inventory of more than 1,000 tools. People are coming out of the woodwork to learn more and join—not only people from his neighborhood but also from all around the city and even the neighboring city, St. Paul. “It gives me so much joy to see folks I know learn to use new tools and take on projects they might never have attempted if it weren’t for the tool access and guidance they got from the tool library.”

The community has embraced the tool library, and word of all that it offers has spread like wildfire. One of Thomas’s favorite member stories so far is about a mother and a daughter. “They were browsing the aisles together in the big box store downtown, getting ready to buy a tile saw for a bathroom project, when the sales associate suggested that they check out the new tool library. They did, and they have been on fire with their home renovation projects ever since.”

“She and her mom learned so much with help from the tool library, and YouTube,” Thomas laughed. “You can never discount the usefulness of YouTube for learning things.”

He has been amazed watching their progress. It was slow-going at first, but they kept plugging away. They transformed the daughter’s bathroom by tiling the floor and the shower and taking down walls.

“I have seen some really exciting projects come to fruition,” Thomas said. “I am happy to be a part of people finding success. That’s why I got involved in starting a tool library in the first place.”

Making the Northeast Minneapolis Tool Library a reality is part of a broader vision on the part of the whole neighborhood. Its founders want to support their city in becoming more vibrant and resilient. They believe they can make their city better by reducing waste; connecting neighbors to neighbors; building the city’s sharing economy; creating inspirational spaces for collaboration; and serving as the kind of resource that allows the community to withstand tough environmental and economic challenges. It’s a grand vision, but it’s rooted in the most practical of values: access for all; a focus on sharing; a belief in community space; and person-to-person connection.

Fast forward to today. The tool library has grown so quickly that it’s already looking for a much bigger space. At the same time, it is beginning a collaboration with other neighborhoods to start three additional libraries around Minneapolis and one in St. Paul. Thomas says they are still working out the details, but tool sharing is booming in the Minneapolis area.

Thomas dreams of expanding the library’s offerings to other kinds of household equipment, like sewing machines and kitchen gadgets that people need for special recipes but don’t use often. Or large pans for large parties.

“And what about outdoor gear? Or equipment like kayaks?” he says. “There are so many possibilities.”

The tool library movement is spreading all around the world. “Libraries of Things” are cropping up across the United States, from Portland to Denver to Berkeley. It’s part of a bigger DIY and sharing movement that has spilled over into repair cafes, where people can bring items in to be fixed instead of throwing them away. And the movement is thinking big: some of the biggest players, like iFixit, have created The Repair Coalition to formally advocate for our right to repair our Stuff.

As cities look toward the future and try to be more resilient, disaster recovery is more and more vital to city planning. Communities made up of people with do-it-yourself skills (and, most importantly, the spirit of helping their neighbors) will be poised to bounce back from increasingly frequent storms like tornadoes and hurricanes.

As for Northeast Minneapolis Tool Library? It’s thriving! Staff and board members are planning more classes and workshops and looking for more people in Minneapolis to get involved. So if you live in the area, swing by!

Does your city need a tool library? What would it take to get one started? What’s stopping you from founding one today?

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