Know Before You Go: Portland’s Tool Libraries

We visited Portland’s four tool lending libraries. Here’s what to expect.

If you’ve lived in Portland for more than a few months and you fancy yourself any shade of handy/crafty/DIY-y, it’s quite possible that you’ve already heard of the city’s tool lending libraries, where you can check out tools for use, for free. If you moved here from the Bay Area, you might have been previously aware of the concept – one of Portland’s first tool libraries was inspired by a predecessor in Berkeley.

And if you are any other type of Portland resident, but still have no idea what I’m talking about, keep reading, because the tool libraries are an amazing community resource that you should absolutely be using.

Probably everyone reading this has been inside of a classic, old-fashioned, book-filled library. The model is a simple one: borrow, use, return.

Tool lending libraries lift this operating model and apply it to tools. While book libraries are established and unquestioned community institutions, tool libraries challenge our ideas of what resources can be shared. Like clothes, kitchen utensils, and various household appliances, we consider tools as items to purchase and own. But tool libraries upend that narrative, making tools and the activities they unlock – repair, maintenance, construction, and more – accessible to everyone.

For those who need a little more information before dipping their toes into this wild world of collectively shared resources, here’s a rundown of some relevant information to further orient your understanding:

There are four tool libraries, and they operate independently.

If you have a Multnomah County Library Card, you may be familiar with the fun perk of being able to request any book from any branch and picking it up at the library nearest you. You may also know that you can return borrowed books to any library location.

Not so with tools, my friend. Each of the tool libraries – Green Lents, Southeast, Northeast, and North Portland – only serves citizens from a specific subset of neighborhoods. To check out tools at the location that serves you, you’ll need some ID and a piece of mail to prove residency in the area. And you must return any checked-out tools to the library from whence they came.

They are open limited hours, so plan ahead.

The tool libraries are all open on Saturday mornings and one or two weeknights, but only for windows of two or three hours at a time. To have a specific tool in your possession on a specific day for a specific project, then, will require a wee bit of strategizing. Check each location’s website for exact hours.

They have virtually All Of The Tools.

Hand tools. Power tools. Garden tools. Wheelbarrows. Ladders. Drill bits. Extension cords. Table saws. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that the tool libraries can offer you Every Tool. (This statement, I know, is demonstrably false, but for the purposes of most DIY projects or repairs you are considering, they probably do have Every Tool you need… or very, very close to it. For rental of larger, more specialized equipment, check out Lewis Rents, a locally owned and operated tool-rental business.)

All of the tool libraries use the same software to catalogue their inventory (another fun fact!).  SEPTL makes theirs perusable via their website so you can check it out online in real time before you go, as do NEPTL and Green Lents. NPTL provides a representative list of tools online, but it is not comprehensive. Tool librarians can also answer your questions about inventory over the phone if you call ahead (during open hours, of course), or help you find the tool you need during your in-person visit.

They are 100% free to use (within reason).

Just like book libraries, the tool libraries will check tools out to you for free. Also like the libraries, they do charge late fees for tardy and unreturned items.

Regarding fines and late returns, tool libraries differ from traditional libraries in a few ways. Green Lents and NEPTL will physically travel to your home to repo exceptionally late tools. And the North Portland location allows patrons to volunteer their time in order to work off their late fees.

They are located in crannies and corners of existing community structures.

When visiting the tool libraries, you’ll most likely first spy a sandwich board on a sidewalk. From there, expect to walk around a corner and/or down a staircase and/or through a hallway before you find the library itself. NEPTL and SEPTL are located in church basements, while NPTL resides in the basement of the historic Kenton Firehouse (now an event venue).

Green Lents Tool Library is the only location with a semi-autonomous structure, provided to them through the larger Green Lents initiative. However, this structure is a warehouse on a tucked-away dead-end street, so the spirit of “get in where you fit in” still applies.

 

They host workshops and events.

Most regularly, NEPTL hosts tool repair work parties every first Monday from 11am-1pm and every second Wednesday from 6:30pm- 9pm at their location. These are a great learning opportunity for repairing tools and can be attended by anyone, regardless of where in town you live. They also host workshops regularly, put on by outside groups, and following them on Facebook is the best way to keep track of this lineup.

The other tool libraries host workshops and events, but on less of a regular basis. Linking into the newsletter or social media of the tool library nearest you can keep you alerted to such offerings when they do arise.

They are looking for volunteers all of the time.

 

Cathy at Green Lents (volunteer for six years) is inspired to volunteer at the tool library because of how it makes projects possible for people who otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford tools. Gray at NEPTL (volunteer for eight years) loves meeting direct neighbors and feeling part of the community. Triffid at NPTL (volunteer for eight years) likes the hands-on work of maintaining the tool inventory. Bob at SEPTL, who started the tool library with a group of friends over ten years ago, says it just made sense to him.

“Instead of buying a bunch of stuff you don’t have the room to store, you can just come here. Buying something you’re only going to use a few times – it’s a waste of money, and a waste of a tool. Every DIY project is going to have one or two specialized tools at least. That’s what we’re here for. And more.”

Volunteers believe in the spirit of the tool library, promoting access over ownership – and they’re always seeking aspiring tool librarians/maintainers/organizers to join their ranks.

There’s always room for more tool libraries.

The SEPTL started after several members of a friend group inherited tools from deceased relatives and realized they owned duplicate sets of everything. The NEPTL began with a few individuals pooling their own tools into a shed and staffing the checkout process themselves, in their free time.

While most of the tool libraries now have streamlined funding sources, the beginnings of any resource-sharing movement can be as grassroots as it gets. Each tool library is limited in scope, and currently there are none serving NE Portland east of 82nd Avenue, or any part of Portland west of the river. All we’re saying is, no one needs to give you permission to start sharing resources amongst yourselves. 

 

Now you know. Go forth, and borrow.