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Welcome to the London Thing Library, a space where Londoners share and learn together
A Thing Library (also known as a Library of Things or a Tool Library) operates like a regular library, but lends things instead of books! There are around 2,000 formally established Thing Libraries around the world, including in Toronto, Guelph, and Kitchener-Waterloo. The longest-running Thing Library is Berkeley Tool Library, Berkeley CA, which was established in 1978!
In April 2022, the Institute for Community Sustainability launched a Thing Library in London, Ontario, with two goals:
- To helping Londoners reduce household waste and save energy, natural resources, storage space, and money; and
- To build community resilience and belonging.
The London Thing Library currently offers over 500 items, including kitchen appliances, gardening gear, hand and power tools, camping equipment, and event supplies. This shared inventory of tools and other households items allows for wider and more equitable access to these resources, and moves away from the traditional “take-make-waste” approach and closer to a circular economy. The Library also serves a ‘gathering place’ where creators, builders, gardeners, bakers, cooks, and other community makers can connect and learn from one another.