Libraries of Things (often called LoTs) are a form of community infrastructure designed for sharing all kinds of stuff. LoTs hold true to the traditional mechanics of a library while pushing borrowing material to a new edge: instruments, gardening tools, camping gear, sporting equipment, and more are up for grabs to be borrowed.
There are about 2,000 formally established LoTs around the world, as well as countless informal ones. Modern LoTs have been in operation since 1978 (the longest-running is Berkeley Tool Library since 1979), but LoTs have existed informally for far longer.
LoTs build community while bringing solidarity economy and mutual aid practices to life. They counter consumerism and individualism and are a more environmentally friendly way to meet our material needs.
In 2023, Shareable surveyed existing Libraries of Things in order to gain a better understanding of the field and identify a set of industry benchmarks. The 82 LoTs (from 11 different countries) who participated included respondents who ranged from directors to volunteers and lived in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Oceania.
The State of Libraries of Things 2024 report results reflect the experiences of the survey respondents. In future iterations of this survey, we hope to capture the experiences of even more of the 2,000+ global LoTs for increased accuracy and assessment of the needs and trends in the field.
Libraries of Things may look different around the world, but the core values of an accessible, community practice are constant. Our goal is to provide a helpful and inspiring look into the inner workings of LoTs. We hope this report is a helpful guide whether you are part of an established LoT looking to understand how it measures up to the larger field or if you are just getting started and are learning what it takes to get a new LoT off the ground and open to your community!
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Download the Report: “The State of Libraries of Things 2024” |
Key Takeaways
- Libraries of Things look and feel different in every community
- Many LoTs are making a difference in their communities with just a handful of volunteers and a small space like a storage unit or garage
- Generally, there are three different “types” of LoTs:
- Fully volunteer-run, with budgets less than $10k/year, limited inventory, and average memberships of less than 200 people (these are the vast majority of LoTs!)
- Larger independent LoTs with storefronts, significant annual budgets, and at least 1 paid Library manager
- Municipal LoTs that are connected to city libraries, including stand-alone dedicated LoTs or collections within regular libraries
- Volunteers are critical to the success of most LoTs, especially for inventory maintenance
- Many LoTs are small with limited usage/items lent out per month
- For financial sustainability, LoTs rely most heavily on membership fees, grants, and donations
- Many LoTs have never conducted a formal needs assessment to determine what their current (and potential) user base wants and needs
- Most LoTs have been operating for less than 5 years and are open 1-3 days/week when they have capacity (with limited hours)
- The vast majority of LoTs provide other services beyond lending items
- Many LoTs are unsure of the racial, gender, income, and employment status of their members–surveying LoT membership can help inform efforts to increase diversity of membership and intentional decision-making
The Library of Things Co-Lab starts on Tuesday, March 5th. For 12 weeks (and beyond) this will be a resource-sharing hub that guides organizers through the process of incubating and strengthening LoTs to serve their communities.
Register for the Co-Lab to access the full schedule of live workshops, recordings, resources, peer network, and more. All participants are encouraged to choose their own adventure and registration will remain open until the end of the Co-Lab.
