Trendy ‘Libraries of Things’ Let You Borrow All Kinds of Stuff–Rather Than Buying it

[Michie]

Does your two-year-old need a winter coat for a skiing holiday that they will outgrow before the following winter? What if there’s a cosmic phenomenon that’s taking place you want to see but you have no interest in owning a telescope? Have you ever thought about taking up photography but felt a $1,000 camera investment was risky?

A new retail phenomenon is addressing concerned consumers who are looking to escape spending for waste creation by developing a concept called a “library of things” (LoT) where people can come and rent just about anything, from baby clothes to air fryers.

There are over 2,000 LoTs located in the English-speaking world and Central Europe, and some have been in operation since 1976. Half of them though only sprang up in the last five years.

Continued below.

Trendy ‘Libraries of Things’ Let You Borrow All Kinds of Stuff–Rather Than Buying it

There are over 2,000 LoTs located in the English-speaking world and Central Europe, and some have been in operation since 1976

www.goodnewsnetwork.org

 

[AlexB23]

Does your two-year-old need a winter coat for a skiing holiday that they will outgrow before the following winter? What if there’s a cosmic phenomenon that’s taking place you want to see but you have no interest in owning a telescope? Have you ever thought about taking up photography but felt a $1,000 camera investment was risky?

A new retail phenomenon is addressing concerned consumers who are looking to escape spending for waste creation by developing a concept called a “library of things” (LoT) where people can come and rent just about anything, from baby clothes to air fryers.

There are over 2,000 LoTs located in the English-speaking world and Central Europe, and some have been in operation since 1976. Half of them though only sprang up in the last five years.

Continued below.

Trendy ‘Libraries of Things’ Let You Borrow All Kinds of Stuff–Rather Than Buying it

There are over 2,000 LoTs located in the English-speaking world and Central Europe, and some have been in operation since 1976

www.goodnewsnetwork.org

Wow, this is a good idea, as not everyone wants to use an item for > 1 use.

 

[iluvatar5150]

I was a member of our tool library for a few years. It’s a good service and handy if you have small jobs that can be coordinated around their operating hours and tool availability. Bigger projects that need high-demand tools (e.g. table saw, air compressor) wound up making the whole thing more hassle than it was worth, for me.

 

[Michie]

I was a member of our tool library for a few years. It’s a good service and handy if you have small jobs that can be coordinated around their operating hours and tool availability. Bigger projects that need high-demand tools (e.g. table saw, air compressor) wound up making the whole thing more hassle than it was worth, for me.

Huge tools are usually used in arts and crafts galleries with a small fee for certain periods of time. They are not hauled off to different areas. The logistics of doing that do not make a lot of sense on a free/borrow basis. Libraries where you can borrow (things) can only do that with items that would not have that sort of issue.

 

[AlexB23]

Huge tools are usually used in arts and crafts galleries with a small fee for certain periods of time. They are not hauled off to different areas. The logistics of doing that do not make a lot of sense on a free/borrow basis. Libraries where you can borrow (things) can only do that with items that would not have that sort of issue.

Agreed. For instance, a photo scanner could be borrowed from a library to scan old photographs for a day. But, most people do not need to own a photo scanner for 365 days of the year.

 

[RileyG]

That actually sounds pretty awesome!

 

[AlexB23]

That actually sounds pretty awesome!

Agreed. God bless the LoT inventor.

 

[dzheremi]

The neighborhood I just moved from had a library that offered rental of musical instruments, basic home improvement tools, computers, etc. If you were willing to spend some time there, you could also rent time on their 3D printers to print whatever you needed to on-site (no taking those home!). I never did rent anything from them, but I was tempted to rent a banjo, and probably would've done it if COVID-19 hadn't shut down access to the building shortly after my first time there.