# How to start a tool library A comprehensive guide to getting a tool library off the ground and links to additional resources ## Starting a tool library isn't as hard as you might think So, maybe you're here because you're determined to create a valuable resource for your community, or you're looking to take a local mutual-aid group chat to the next level. Or maybe you've just noticed how much your tools sit around and want to put them to good use. You might be thinking, I'm going to need a bunch of tools, and a 501(c)(3), and a building, and don't get me wrong, all of those are a good thing to have. But to start out, it might be easier than you think. Shareable's State of Libraries of Things 2024 counted about 2,000 formally established libraries of things worldwide, and most of them are still a volunteer crew, a budget under $10,000 a year, fewer than 200 members. A handful of things stored in a garage or members' homes is enough to start making a real change. Here's what we recommend to prioritize first. ### 1. Ask what people actually want Ask around before you start collecting extra stuff. You might be thinking a city block wants drills and a carpet cleaner somebody can wheel home, farm country wants a tiller, and that picture might be totally wrong. You don't know until you talk to people, and what you find might surprise you! EcoFarming Daily recommends doing a survey first. Shareable's 2024 report found that a majority of libraries haven't done this, and that most are also unsure of their members' demographics. There are probably underserved potential members that you can start helping with interviews and group chat polls. ### 2. Start sketching out the framework You can start out simple with things like how long a borrow lasts, how many things at once, what happens when something comes back broken, who's allowed to say yes. Share Starter (linked below) has sample policies that you can use as a reference if you're looking for someplace to start. You'll want insurance, even while the tools are still in a garage or at members' homes, but the insurance on your house probably doesn't cover lending them out. ### 3. A waiver, if you want one Among people who already trust each other, a couple of rules can last a long time. When you start lending to people you don't already know, you can ask for ID and a waiver first, and Share Starter's document library (linked below) is where they live. Shareable says fear of getting sued has stopped more tool libraries than anything else. ### 4. Create a catalog You might've already run into this: someone asks whether anyone has a sander because the tools aren't written down anywhere. That might be okay for a small group, but it still has a cost. Someone might not even start a project because they don't know that a person in the group has the tool or the skill to teach them, and would be happy to help. To solve this problem, you can use a variety of solutions like a simple spreadsheet, a task tracker app, or even full-fledged tool library catalog apps, but these all come with downsides that might not be obvious at first glance. For the spreadsheet, this either requires listing contact info next to the tool which could easily get abused, or lots of manual work syncing the internal tool list with the external tool list. For the task tracker app, this could work, but you will still run into the public info and syncing issues, and perhaps other issues if the task tracker app isn't suited for your workflow. Finally, the centralized tool library catalog provides a great resource for your community, but they're primarily meant for centralized catalogs which means you may need to constantly keep it updated, and it's not easy to check who owns which tool. ToolPool.Garden was created because we had this exact problem with our own group that wasn't big enough for a centralized catalog, and wanted to include items on loan from individual owners as well. ToolPool.Garden lets your community crowdsource all the tools that they are willing to lend and skills they're willing to teach. And it doesn't even have to be tools, it can be board games, knitting supplies, camping, whatever. All without needing to publicly attach their name next to it. If people start handing you extras, ask businesses too, not just households. West Seattle worked with a local garden center that gave a discount to anyone who donated a tool. Be picky about stuff coming through the door, especially if it isn't working. Broken tools might look like a deal, but unless you've got the time and energy to spare, they can end up costing more than you might think. ### 5. Tell people, and lend Getting involved in community events, advertising on places like bulletin boards, or local interest groups can help. Online ads might work, but they're usually only worth it if you have money to spend or can get Google's nonprofit ads grant. Usually the best method is to talk to people that you want to help, and they may be able to direct you to the people and places you'd want to share it with. ## If you want the fancy stuff Don't get me wrong, a room and a board of your own are a good thing to have, once the handful version is actually getting used. Shareable's 2024 report showed that most of the established ones are still just a volunteer crew, under $10,000 a year, fewer than 200 members, open one to three days a week. The North Portland Tool Library worked out that members saved roughly $60 on every tool they borrowed. Shareable describes a DeWalt table saw that went out 321 times to 211 different people. They count almost 400 libraries of things with over a quarter of a million items between them, lending close to a million times a year, and they cite UN research putting the emissions saving of sharing a product instead of buying one at up to 99%. ### A 501(c)(3), or a fiscal sponsor You might get to a point where you want to take donations, or need a bank account that isn't in one person's name. Starting your own nonprofit will get you those. If you want to take donations without starting one, you can sign an agreement with a fiscal sponsor whose work and mission is similar to yours. Donors give to the sponsor, who holds the money, and you ask them when you need to spend some. Share Starter has sample sponsor agreements. If your local library is open to the idea, libraries are uniquely qualified to host a tool library, since they already have catalog software, with staff, desks, insurance, and budgets. Safety Harbor Public Library in Florida added tools to its catalogue in 2016, so people reserve a hedge trimmer the way they'd reserve a book. Berkeley's tool lending library keeps tool specialists on staff to help people pick the right one. ### Money, once you have costs If you're sharing what people already own, you might not have costs yet. Shareable's 2024 report showed that the established libraries of things run on membership fees, grants and donations. EcoFarming Daily says annual membership runs somewhere between $40 and $120, with late fees of $1 to $10 a day, and both are still far under what a rental counter charges. If you crowdfund the startup money, Shareable says write the business plan first so you can say exactly what the money buys, in 16 tips to crowdfund a tool library (linked below). ### A room People can keep their own tools at home until a shared room would actually help, and you don't need one just to find out whether anyone wants to borrow anything. Shareable's toolkit has a section on space for when you get there. ### A checkout desk You can run a small collection off a spreadsheet, and you'll notice it getting harder about the time the collection gets interesting. Libraries with a desk use software like myTurn, Lend Engine, Patio or Circulate. If you went the public library route, you already have a catalogue. ### Volunteers, if you have a room Volunteers keep the places with a door running, and Shareable's 2024 report says their main job is inventory maintenance. Somebody has to test the tools and order the blades, and chase down whatever didn't come back. It's recommended to get this on a rotation, because it's the work that burns out whoever founded the place. ## Guides The longer guides, the templates, and the parts that depend on where you live. - [Shareable's Library of Things Toolkit](https://www.shareable.net/toolkit/library-of-things/) The current field guide: operations, insurance, space, and governance. - [Shareable's guide to the Library of Things Toolkit](https://www.shareable.net/how-to/new-toolkit-from-shareable-will-help-you-start-and-grow-a-library-of-things-in-your-community/) The twelve sections, and the video course that goes with them. - [Shareable's how to start a tool library](https://www.shareable.net/how-to/how-to-start-a-tool-library/) The West Seattle walkthrough that became Share Starter. - [Share Starter's starter kit](https://sharestarter.org/start-a-tool-library/) The walkthrough those documents sit in. - [Local Tools: find and start a tool library](https://localtools.org/find/) A directory of starting points, including the Toolkit and the Alliance. - [myTurn's starting resources](https://myturn.com/resource/starting-a-tool-library/) A roundup of articles and Share Starter documents. - [5 strategies for a successful tool lending library](https://ecofarmingdaily.com/farm-management/diversification-tactics/5-strategies-for-a-successful-tool-lending-library/) EcoFarming Daily, on how working libraries have been set up. - [16 tips to crowdfund a tool library](https://www.shareable.net/how-to/16-tips-to-crowdfund-a-tool-library-in-your-town/) How Denver, University Heights and La Remise raised the first money. - [How libraries of things build resilience](https://www.shareable.net/how-libraries-of-things-build-resilience-fight-climate-change-and-bring-communities-together/) Why people start one, beyond the how-to. ## If you need documents for how you run it - [Share Starter's document library](https://sharestarter.org/tools/) Waivers, budgets, fiscal sponsor agreements, borrowers' agreements. - [The State of Libraries of Things 2024](https://www.shareable.net/new-report-the-state-of-libraries-of-things-2024/) What existing libraries actually look like: size, budget, staffing. ## If you want other libraries - [The Tool Library Alliance](https://www.toollibraryalliance.org/) A US network of established libraries. - [The Tool Library Alliance map](https://www.toollibraryalliance.org/map) Find one nearby. - [Planeteer Handbook: Libraries](https://sites.google.com/view/planeteerhandbook/community/libraries) A worldwide directory of tool libraries, libraries of things, and seed libraries. ## If you want checkout-desk software ToolPool.Garden is mainly for peer-to-peer lending, instead of one central organization managing everything. While you can create institutional accounts in ToolPool.Garden for the permanent stuff, if you're looking for centralized-only software, here's some other more traditional catalog software that you can use instead. - [myTurn](https://myturn.com/lending-libraries/) Checkout software for a desk that checks items in and out. - [Lend Engine](https://www.lend-engine.com/software-for-tool-libraries) The same kind of checkout-desk software. - [Patio](https://patio.so/tool-library-software) Checkout-desk software that builds a listing from a photo. - [Circulate](https://github.com/chicago-tool-library/circulate) The Chicago Tool Library's open-source checkout app. ## On ToolPool.Garden ToolPool.Garden is how you run a tool library with the people you know. You put the tools up here, and people borrow them from each other. The first month is free, and so is any month the pool is up to 20 members and up to 250 listings. [Sign up](https://toolpool.garden/users/register) [Create a pool](https://toolpool.garden/pool/new) Search the pool, post a request or list a skill, and a borrow is a 1-on-1 chat with a discussion checklist. - [Add ToolPool.Garden to Slack](https://toolpool.garden/tutorials/add-to-slack) - [Add ToolPool.Garden to Discord](https://toolpool.garden/tutorials/add-to-discord) - [Connect Claude to ToolPool.Garden](https://toolpool.garden/tutorials/connect-claude) - [Connect ChatGPT to ToolPool.Garden](https://toolpool.garden/tutorials/connect-chatgpt) - [Connect Grok to ToolPool.Garden](https://toolpool.garden/tutorials/connect-grok) - If the library owns tools as a group, keep those on one shared account. [How do I share group-owned tools?](https://toolpool.garden/tutorials/shared-account) None of this is legal advice from us, and ToolPool.Garden doesn't provide a waiver or insurance, or set your group up as a nonprofit. This tutorial was last updated on September 2026. Is there a link that we're missing or need to change? Please let us know at [support@toolpool.garden](mailto:support@toolpool.garden) and we'll try to update things as soon as possible. ## Other tutorials - [Connect Claude to ToolPool.Garden](https://toolpool.garden/tutorials/connect-claude) - [Connect ChatGPT to ToolPool.Garden](https://toolpool.garden/tutorials/connect-chatgpt) - [Connect Grok to ToolPool.Garden](https://toolpool.garden/tutorials/connect-grok) - [How to import tens of resources easily with AI](https://toolpool.garden/tutorials/import-with-ai-chat) - [How to import hundreds of resources easily with AI](https://toolpool.garden/tutorials/import-with-ai) - [Add ToolPool.Garden to Slack](https://toolpool.garden/tutorials/add-to-slack) - [Add ToolPool.Garden to Discord](https://toolpool.garden/tutorials/add-to-discord) - [How to start a makerspace](https://toolpool.garden/tutorials/start-a-makerspace) - [How to add your community to the tool pool](https://toolpool.garden/tutorials/add-your-community) - [How to add a tool inventory to your website](https://toolpool.garden/tutorials/embed-tool-library-inventory) - [How to manage requests without making it complicated](https://toolpool.garden/tutorials/manage-requests) - [How do I share group-owned tools?](https://toolpool.garden/tutorials/shared-account) - [How to 3D print a multicolor sign](https://toolpool.garden/tutorials/3d-print-a-multicolor-sign)