East Vancouver library lends tools, not books

Instead of names like Bronte and Dickens, a unique library is dishing out Black and Decker and other tools.

The Vancouver Tool Library in East Vancouver helps handymen – and women – who find themselves a little short in the tool belt, providing all manner of equipment for all kinds of jobs.

The library operates as a cooperative, lending tools for home repair, gardening and bicycle maintenance – all free of charge for its members.

"We have hobbyists that just do little projects. We have artists that use some of our smaller hand tools. We have people who've redone their basement,” said Chris Diplock.

Roommates Travis Pawlak and George Rahi used the library to build a tiny curbside book exchange near Commercial Drive budded the “St. George Library.”

"I think it's wonderful,” said Rahi.  “I think it's allowed people like us to work on creative projects where we wouldn't have had access to a table saw and power tools that are kind of out of our budget."

And if it warms your heart to see young men giving their time to help bring their community closer together, that’s exactly the spirit that drives the Vancouver Tool Library.

Many of the tools and building supplies at the library are donated and membership fees are minimal, giving residents have the ability to make a real difference in their neighbourhoods.

"It's because sharing is such a basic activity for a community to do and it seems so obvious,” Diplock said. "So why don't we all share our tools with each other in the neighbourhood so that everyone can engage and work on projects they want to?"

The Vancouver Tool Library celebrated its first anniversary this month.

The membership fee is just $20 and then a $30 annual maintenance fee. Low income residents and students pay less.

The tool library has nearly 300 members.  It also has special workshops for women to teach users how to use the tools and build special projects.

Click here to learn more about the library.