A tool library works like a regular book library; tools are there for lending, instead of buying or renting them. Many of us have tools we rarely use or may never use again. Why not share them? Besides staple guns and chainsaws, some tool libraries include kitchen tools that are not used daily, like stand mixers.

If we share tools instead of always buying new ones, there is less extraction of materials from natural resources, less manufacturing, and less transportation. This, in turn, leads to decreases in emissions on the one hand and big savings for those who would otherwise be buying or renting tools on the other. Share the wealth and ways to improve homes and lives!

A tool library can easily lead to a repair café. This is a place where people come together to repair belongings they would otherwise discard. Tools that might be too heavy to lend, like sewing machines, can be made publicly available in a repair café. It is also an excellent way to get to know more neighbors and begin to work together towards common goals.