Join a local tool library for your DIY needs

Have you ever bought a tool for a project around the home and wondered when you’d ever need it again? Tool libraries provide an easy and sustainable solution, letting you borrow tools from the small and everyday to the large and specialist, when you need them, without having to worry about costs or storage.

A tool library is basically a library, but for tools instead of books. You can get things like drills, sanders, saws, lawn equipment, sewing machines, specialized hand tools, and even bulky items like carpet cleaners and pressure washers. Once you become a member of a local library (usually for a small annual fee or donation), you can browse their inventory and check out the tool you need for a few days or a week, then return it when you’re done.

Not only does this save you money buying a tool you may only use once or twice, it is also a climate action. What makes this planet-friendly? Since tool libraries allow a whole neighborhood to share one or two items, fewer new tools have to be made, transported, packaged, and eventually discarded. Every step of that process is associated with energy costs, which means more climate-warming greenhouse gas emissions. The Library of Things, a tool library with branches across London, UK, has saved 1,500 tonnes of CO2 since its inception in 2014.

Tool libraries also often have workshops and other resources to help people repair items instead of buying more. For example, the Tool Library in Buffalo, NY helped divert 4,229 pounds of waste through a ‘Repair Cafe’ program that showed residents how to mend their belongings.

Aside from these tangible benefits, it feels great to be able to fix something instead of having to throw it away.

Many local tool libraries let you browse their extensive inventories online | Source: Denver Tool Library

There’s more immediate benefits of tool libraries, too. They help people save the money they’d otherwise spend on expensive tools which would probably spend most of their time in storage. In 2022, the aforementioned Buffalo Tool Library recorded 14,000+ transactions that amounted to $580,000 saved in would-be new products. There’s also a valuable social aspect to tool libraries, as sharing tools and tips can help strengthen community relationships.

If you like the idea of a tool library membership and are curious if there is one near you, there’s an easy way to get started—theTool Library Alliance is an international association providing resources on all things tool library. They have a catalogue of active tool libraries across the world, with a large and growing concentration in North America and Europe. You can also search for libraries local to you online. So if there’s something you need to complete your next project, check out your local tool library.