When the Vancouver Tool Library marked its grand opening just over four years ago, it stocked an inventory of 400 tools. It now boasts 2,060 tools and close to 1,400 members.
Growth has been steady. Greg Stone, for one, is pleased.
Stone took over managing the co-op, located at 3448 Commercial St., in March. He works three-quarter time and has help from about 20 volunteers.
“Financially, we’re getting stronger and stronger and we’re tweaking our pricing system and our inventory to strengthen how we’re doing financially. And as far as members go, it’s been a pretty steady climb, pretty consistent,” he said.
Refining the inventory included holding a garage sale last spring. Tools that weren’t being borrowed were sold, and the library used some of the proceeds to invest in more popular tools.
The wide assortment of items available for loan ranges from shovels, shop vacs and power washers to compressors, sanders and a lathe. It even recently acquired a sewing machine.
Table saws, drills and chop saws are among the most in-demand tools, though the most-borrowed list can fluctuate depending on the season. Stone said gardening tools were popular in the spring, and now that fall is approaching, members are taking out more home renovation equipment.
“So our floor section is getting used a lot and our dry walling tools are getting taken out,” he said.
Although the library launched with help from grants, it’s now sustaining itself.
“Our business model is working,” Stone said.
Members pay a one-time fee of $20 to join, an annual maintenance fee, a small loan fee for power tools (hand tools can be borrowed for no charge), and late fees.
“Our overhead isn’t that high, so the requirements to stay in the black are not crazy difficult to meet.”
The board is currently undergoing some changes, with a few new people taking positions, but Stone said the eventual dream is to move the tool library into a larger space with room for a workshop.
He expects the library will apply for grants again in the future, particularly in the case of a move.
Meantime, the tool library periodically offers workshops for a small fee — it’s in the midst of a Basic Bike Maintenance Workshop series, which finishes at the end of the month.
Stone wants the library to become a place that does more than just loan tools.
“I don’t just want this to be a tool rental store. I want it to be a community involvement hub. So we’re not just renting tools for cheap, we’re also fostering relationships with other like-minded organizations and having members of the community come in and learn to use a table saw, for example. So that would be cool to develop a bit more,” he said.
The need for a tool library has grown over the years given the rise in condo and apartment living. Residents are also increasingly open to the sharing economy.
“I think the trend of moving into smaller condos and apartments is making it difficult for people to own their own tools, so I think that trend is working in our favour,” Stone said, adding, “Space is one thing, especially in the city, but it’s also sharing a financial resource. It’s so expensive to buy your own things and if you’re not going to use it all the time, it just makes sense to [borrow] it from us.”
The Cargo Bike Co-op just gifted a particularly useful item — a Yuba Mundo long-tail cargo bike capable of carrying 400 pounds plus the rider.
The bike co-op, which formed in 2008 in honour of community organizer and environmental activist Isobel Kiborn, hasn’t been very active in the past couple of years and the cargo bike was its only remaining asset.
“I had kept the cargo bike and used it in various parades and cargo bike demo rides and that kind of stuff but [the Cargo Bike Co-op] hadn’t really been doing much with it in the last year or two,” explained member Ron Richings. “So I found out about the Vancouver Tool Library. It was really a perfect fit for it… They’re happy to get it and we’re happy to give it to them.”
See vancouvertoollibrary.com for more details about its operation and lending practices.
@naoibh
