The Library of Things comes to Hackney Wick
You know the scenario, there are odd jobs you need to do around your home and you finally set time aside to tackle them but you don’t have the equipment. You contemplate buying what you need but you can’t justify the expense for such a small job? And where do you store if afterwards?
Finally there is solution - The Library of Things, and it’s coming to Hackney Wick. To find our more we’ve had a chat with Lucy, the Hackney Wick Community Activator.
How did the library of things get started?
The Library of Things was started by three friends in West Norwood: Emma Shaw, Rebecca Trevelyan and Sophia Wyatt in 2014. All having small flats, they realised how ridiculous it was to keep buying large items that they hardly ever used and had nowhere to store. Inspired by similar ventures in Berlin and Toronto, they started testing out the idea in their local library in West Norwood, and developing it further in Crystal Palace.
The idea is taking off across London - with a new site just opened in Morden and more planned across London this year. The idea is to provide tools and equipment for household, DIY, gardening and adventure at an affordable price, so that communities spend less money on buying items, and this also decreases the amount going to landfill.
The Morden Library of Things (photo Seb Rojas)
How does the library work?
A collection of useful Things – tools, equipment and more – are available to borrow from £7 a day. They are booked on the website and then picked up at the Library. There are also events and workshops based around the Things, which should be able to happen again when Covid restrictions have eased.
What can be borrowed?
The main categories are Cleaning, DIY, Cooking and Hosting, Hobbying, Gardening, and Adventuring, and some examples of the items are sewing machines, drills, strimmers, dehumidifiers, pressure washers, circular saws, projectors, and speaker and PA system.
What is the largest piece of equipment you have that can be borrowed?
Probably either the ladder, lawn mower or pressure washer!
How can the local community help? Can they volunteer? Or donate?
We don’t take donated items as they need to be new and in good working order, and we need to be trained how to use them, so we have specific models. There will be opportunities for volunteering when we’re open yes – get in touch if you are interested.
How many libraries are there?
There are currently libraries in Crystal Palace and Morden, so Hackney Wick will be the third. Another is planned in Kentish Town and there are several more London sites in the pipeline.
The Baths on the Eastway, which is where the Library will open (photo Lucy Harrison)
When is the Hackney Wick Library of Things due to open?
We are planning to open at the end of May at The Baths on Eastway.
Installation progress inside the Baths (photo Lucy Harrison)
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