I love a hardware store, a real hardware store, with walls of nails and washers tucked away neatly in drawers, rows of gardening implements, and shelves loaded with power tools. My garden and house have always been works in progress, too, and I love doing as much of the work as I can on my own. Always on the look out for helpful resources, I tracked down Tom Thompson, who is also excited about such things. He's been a contractor for over 30 years, and when I talked with him the other day about his Northeast Portland Tool Library (NEPTL), he was really stoked to tell me all about the best resource center around.
Eve's dream: shelves loaded with power tools
And he should be. This neighborhood collaborative enterprise that relies on grants, donations, and committed volunteers, is one of the coolest things going. What began with a scrap of paper passed to Thompson at a neighborhood meeting in 2008, turned into a fount of resources for our community housed at the Redeemer Church on NE 20th Avenue and Killingsworth Street. The library is a sponsored project of Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods (NECN) and has 501(c)(3) status.
When Portland's Bureau of Planning and Sustainability awarded $1000 to the project—that also had an expiration date of 30 days—Thompson had no problem making smart purchases for the neighborhood resource center.
Last August (2008), there were 350 tools—today, there are 950 tools, 600+ members, 800 donated tools. When donations come in that are not needed items, Thompson sells them to make wise purchases of other needed items. "We share and reuse, not just throw stuff away."
The North Portland Tool Library (NPTL) has been around for about five years. This amazing resource center had tremendous support in its start-up phase, with grants and donations for various community groups and individuals including The Bureau of Housing and Community Development, Metro, and North Portland Neighborhood Services. The library also boasts a terrific computer program developed by consultant Chris Glad. NPTL shared the wealth when NEPTL was getting ready to launch, too. As Thompson notes: "They helped us considerably during our first year. We didn't have to reinvent the wheel."
North Portland Tool Library
NEPTL "works towards a future where Portland is vibrant, sustainable, and a thriving city for people of all income levels by providing homeowners, renters, and business owners of the Northeast with tools and the knowledge to use them." With this vision, the library is a much needed resource center for people who do not have the means to purchase or rent the tools they need to make home improvements. It's also perfect for people who only need to use a certain tool once. (Note: No gas-powered tools or tools that contain or use hazardous materials are available. You're on your own for potentially blowing things up in your yard or driveway.) Members are able to check out up to seven tools per week. Check out is from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday only, with tools to be returned by 10 a.m. the following Saturday to avoid late fees being incurred.
Northeast Portland residents (west of 82nd) 18 and older who wish to borrow tools can easily do so by first showing up at the library on a Saturday morning. After reading the rules and fine schedule, fill out and sign an application form, show proof of identity and residency (the usual suspects: driver's license, passport, or government issue id with photo and; utility bill, mortgage or insurance statement, or lease agreement), and you'll have access to an ever-growing inventory of home repair and gardening tools.
But wait! There's more!
Workshops and classes have become popular events at the tool library, too. Topics span waking up your garden, composting, deck building, seed saving, weatherization, and a fall favorite, putting your garden to bed. The spring rainbarrel building workshop was packed with 20 people eager to learn how to install home rainwater management systems—with 20 more on a wait list. Thompson is planning another rainbarrel making workshop or two for early next year.
There's also a free seed saving library whereby users bring in seeds from plants, flowers, and veggies, take what they need for next season's gardens. The seed inventory continues to expand, and so has the center's space needs. When the library first opened, maybe five tools would be checked out on a typical Saturday. Now, 125 to 150 tools are checked out each weekend. With so many tools and so many users of the resources, PODS donated three months use of one of its storage units until the library moves out of the church garage to the 800 square foot basement of the Redeemer Church. Thompson muses: "It's great that the church has been so generous... and, it's wonderful for us to be able to help other organizations—like the Blue Door Project, and with the Portland Fruit Tree Project right next door... we now have enough equipment that we can reach out to others [groups]."
Even with all this activity around neighborhood collaboration and sharing resources, however, there's actually one negative: a "serious shortage of volunteers." Thompson wasn't able to open on a Saturday or two, "which is a problem." On Saturday, September 26, the library's one-year anniversary party and open house will be held from noon to 3 p.m. Besides some commentary about the amazing growth and currents needs of the library, a silent auction will be held; hopefully, too, the event will attract curious neighbors and potential volunteers. Thompson will also participate in United Villages Community Outreach Panel Presentation and Discussion on October 1 (Sharing Ideas: Grassroots Projects Started by Neighbors).
Thompson is encouraged that through exposure such as these events, neighbors will continue to dive right in to the resources that are available to them at the tool library. "By creating something that truly helps people. That's a gift to us all."
