Southeast Portland is about to become the beneficiary of a cool, community-based concept that is finding its way around Portland, and into cities across the country.
Plans are underway for an early May opening of the Southeast Portland Tool Library, which will be permanently housed within a 25’ by 17’ storage room at St. David’s Episcopal Church on the corner of SE 28th and Harrison Street.
For those unaware of the concept, it’s like a regular, run-of-the-mill public library. But, instead of books, members will be able to checkout tools—free of charge—ranging from rakes to cordless skilsaws. A pretty good idea considering how often the average handyman or handywoman uses any tools, let alone specialized ones.
St. David of Wales Episcopal Church
The idea came from Steve Couche, Reed neighborhood resident and sustainability coordinator for the Reed Neighborhood Association, after visiting the Northeast Portland Tool Library. Witnessing the success in Northeast, coupled with the notion that this concept would mesh well with the identity of Southeast, Couche decided to investigate into the reason there wasn’t one already.
“I asked Tim O’Neal [neighborhood projects coordinator at Southeast Uplift] why there wasn’t a tool library in Southeast yet,” said Couche. “He acknowledged that it was a good question and put it on a Southeast Uplift meeting notice so that I could ask that question again.”
Couche’s notion gained an endorsement from the group and he was asked to lead the coordinating efforts. One audience member suggested that the library could be in an underutilized storage room at her church, St. David’s Episcopal Church. St. David’s rector, Sara Fischer, greeted the idea with open arms.
A short time after Couche started to get the ball rolling, Jeff Horne, co-chair of the Richmond Neighborhood Sustainability Committee, also began wondering why there wasn’t a tool library in Southeast.
“We [Richmond Neighborhood Sustainability Committee] were looking into starting a tool library and as we started to investigate we found out that Steve was already in the process [of starting one],” said Horne. “I immediately jumped on board.”
SEPTL Volunteers, left to right: Cedar, Charles Reid, Chris New (kneeling), Aaron Tarfman, Ginny Benware. Photo courtesy of Jeff Horne.
He continued:
I think we were both recognizing that it doesn’t make sense, either financially or environmentally, to buy something you use only once and then put it in the corner of your garage to gather cobwebs…it’s just like books. Most books get read once and that’s it. Why buy a book when you can borrow it for free?
After putting together a proposal to use the space at the church, gaining some volunteer support and being awarded a $2,100 Southeast Uplift Small Grant (funded through the Portland Office of Neighborhood Involvement) for seed money, Couche decided to meet with the coordinators of the tool libraries in North Portland and Northeast Portland to gain some insight. Not a bad idea considering NEPTL has up to 200 visitors a day during peak seasons [summer and harvest months].
“Although we are not officially partnered with either library, we have built a strong connection with both of them since the very beginning of this project,” said Couche.
Not only did NEPTL staff help Couche develop an inventory program, they also helped develop a marketing strategy and re-gifted them over 200 tools. These re-gifted tools include a sawzall, a miter saw, ladders, sanders and a host of different kind of drills.
“NEPTL has been a wonderful resource for us and the folks that run it are just amazing,” said Horne. “The entire process has been inspiring.”
Couche and Horne both hope to have a full stock of tools by the time they open. They would like to have tools for any occasion, including: carpentry and woodworking, gardening, mechanics and drywall.
Tools at the Northeast Portland Tool Library
“We hope to have a full range of tools when we open,” said Horne. “I think we will get there because we have over 200 already and really haven’t even started actively looking for donations.”
In addition to looking for tool donations, the group is also searching for volunteers. Although they already have about 20 individuals interested in volunteering, both an ample amount of tools and volunteers is what it will take to make this thing work, and make it work for free. According to their web site, the group is looking for outreach volunteers, tool gurus, handy volunteers, volunteers with pickup trucks and graphic designers.
“A few people I’ve talked to about the tool library just didn’t believe it could actually be free and have no membership fees,” he said. “Nope! It really is free.”
He continued, “We will be charging a small late fee just to make sure tools are returned in a timely manner for others to borrow. Otherwise, it’s just nice neighbors offering a great service that they think is important.”
Anyone within the Southeast Uplift boundaries (which includes 19 neighborhoods north of the city of Milwaukie, south of I-84, east of the Willamette River and west of 82nd Avenue) can borrow up to five tools at a time for a one-week period free of charge. In addition to borrowing tools, members will be allowed to attend the library's do-it-yourself workshops hosted by local professionals and knowledgeable neighbors.
Southeast Uplift Neighborhood Coalition boundaries
“We’d like to host gardening events like: spring bed preparation, rain barrel construction and composting,” he said. “[Also] home construction events like weatherproofing your home and simple at home do-it-yourself fixes to common problems.”
Horne envisions frequent users of the tool library holding workshops about things within their knowledge bank while attending others’ workshops to gain new insights.
“I see people from all walks of life using the tool library,” he said. “Both men and women, the young and the old, and especially folks who don’t have the money to buy or rent a tool for a small project.”
In the meantime, the group is working hard to get everything ready. On March 20, starting at 10 a.m., they will be holding a donation day and spring-cleaning event at the library. All tool donations are tax deductible. During the event the group will hold a raffle for attendants. The main prize will be a home performance assessment by the Portland-based Green Hammer, Inc. valued at $450.
Tools at the Northeast Portland Tool Library
“We’ve had a couple of work parties to clean up the space, build shelves (repurposed bi-fold doors donated by the Rebuilding Center in North Portland) and organize tools…[Each time] more and more people show up wanting to get involved,” said Horne. “Most of us didn’t know each other before the process began, so it’s wonderful seeing the sense of community grow between us.”
Couche agreed that the cooperation shown between not only individuals, but also entire neighborhoods, has been absolutely amazing.
Those individuals looking to donate, volunteer, or that are just interested in learning more about the concept, should visit the tool library online at http://www.septl.org. Steve Couche can also be contacted at 503.232-0699. Or, by email at steveco1948@comcast.net.
