OUR MISSION
We share the tools our neighbors need to create the change they want.
The Tool Library is a volunteer-powered nonprofit tool-lending library located at 2626 Main Street in Buffalo, NY.
At The Tool Library, we believe that cost shouldn’t be a barrier to fixing up your home, growing your own food, and improving your community. As a community-driven non-profit, a membership to the Tool Library gives community members access to thousands of tools, free educational programming, and a community of doers and makers.
Since 2011, The Tool Library has grown from a small storefront helping neighbors fix up their homes to a region-wide resource center helping individuals and organizations make a significant impact in their community through the power of sharing.
In addition to our Tool Borrowing Program, The Tool Library also works to make repair more accessible through our Dare to Repair Cafes and works with partners to put our tools to work in the community through our Service Days.
What?
A tool library is a non-profit program set up to lend tools out to community members to help them maintain and fix-up their homes and gardens. Tools can range anywhere from hammers, screwdrivers, and shovels to power drills, circular saws, and sanders. Individuals and businesses can donate tools to the program which will then be circulated throughout the neighborhood for a small annual membership fee. This revenue stream helps cover much of the overhead associated with the service.
Where?
The Tool Library is located at 2626 Main Street at the intersection of Main Street, Parker Avenue, and Vernon Avenue. At the crossroads of four different neighborhoods and a bridge between the East Side and West Side of Buffalo, this new location is not only more accessible, it’s over four times as large as our previous space.
Please note that our old location at 5 W. Northrup Place is no longer open.
Why?
In a world with too much stuff and too much waste, we still have too many people with too little access to the resources they need. The Tool Library offers a high-impact solution that increases access and equity while reducing waste.
Community-led, nimble, and responsive, our organization facilitates the sharing of essential physical items from circular saws to sewing machines within a trust-based network that also builds relationships across lines of race, class, gender, and even politics. The Tool Library transforms communities by providing affordable access to the tools and resources people need and want while reducing overconsumption and waste. We foster collaborative consumption of shared goods, which shifts the focus from wanting more stuff to wanting more access to stuff.
How to Join
For an individual, business, or organization to join the Tool Library the following things are necessary:
- Fill out a membership application
- Pay annual membership fee
- Present a valid driver’s license or photo I.D. the first time you visit