TIL my local library has a tool lending library and it's a game changer

I stopped by the main branch in Springfield yesterday to return a book and noticed a whole shelf of drills, clamps, and even a carpet cleaner you can check out. I borrowed a heat gun to strip some old paint off my porch railings instead of buying one I'd use once. Has anyone else used their library for this kind of thing?

4 comments

4 Comments

mary_west23d ago

Right? The carpet cleaner thing is genius. That alone makes the whole idea worth it.

skyler_jackson275d ago

Man, that's such a good point about the carpet cleaner. Something nobody talks about though is how this could actually help people who live in apartments or small spaces without a garage. Not everyone has room to store a table saw or a wet vac, you know? I live in a condo with a tiny storage closet and I would love to borrow a wheelbarrow for a weekend without having to figure out where to keep it. Plus, think about the environmental angle too. Every tool that gets borrowed instead of bought means one less cheap plastic drill or pressure washer ending up in a landfill after a few uses. It changes the whole way you think about owning stuff. Do any of your libraries have a waiting list for the popular items?

dakotab9323d ago

The heat gun is a perfect example of why these things are so great. You pay like forty bucks for a tool you use for one weekend then it sits in your garage for five years collecting dust until you finally give it to Goodwill. I've been borrowing a pressure washer from mine every spring for the last three years to clean my patio and it still works perfect every time. The carpet cleaner is the real hidden gem though, those rentals at the grocery store are like thirty bucks a day plus the solution and the library just gives you the machine for free. Makes me wonder why more towns don't do this, seems like a no brainer for community resources.

cole_baker23d ago

The pressure washer thing hits close to home. I bought one three years ago, used it twice, and now it just sits in the corner of my garage taking up space. Every time I walk past it I think "I should use that" but then I never do. Our library just started a tool library last month and they already have a waitlist for the carpet cleaner. People are going nuts for it. I bet in five years every town with a decent library system will have one of these.