St. Paul is soon getting a new type of library—one that includes power drills, wrenches and lawn mowers.
The St. Paul Tool Library will be the newest branch of the
Northeast Minneapolis Tool Library, a nonprofit where members can check out tools for home repairs and projects. The new St. Paul location at 755 Prior Avenue N., in the Midway neighborhood, is slated to open late 2016 or early 2017.
The idea for a new library branch location came about earlier this year when St. Paul resident John Bailey contacted the Northeast Minneapolis Tool Library to express his interest in bringing the nonprofit to his city. Bailey, who is now the chair of the St. Paul Tool Library Local Advisory Board, says the library is a good fit for the area. “I have known about tool libraries for a long time and they make so much sense,” Bailey says. “It seemed crazy that St. Paul didn't have one.”
Zachary Wefel, president of the Northeast Minneapolis Tool Library agrees: “In our strategic plan, we did say we eventually wanted to open multiple branches. So when a few people from St. Paul contacted us and said, ‘We’re interested in doing this,’ we met with them and determined it would be a really great fit.”
With the support of the Northeast Minneapolis Tool Library and a successful crowdfunding campaign, Bailey and his supporters raised the funds needed to make the St. Paul Tool Library a reality. Once the new lease on the space is finalized, the tool library will host a tool drive to fill the new space with inventory.
With the growth of the sharing economy, the tool library is a natural fit for those who want to work on home projects, but don’t necessarily want or need to buy power tools to keep around the house. “I think for many people in St. Paul, [the tool library] can help them save money by buying less tools,” Bailey says, “and as importantly, teach new skills.”
Tool library membership are $55 per year, which gives members unlimited tool checkouts as well as discounts on studio classes. The Northeast Minneapolis Tool Library is currently accepting membership applications in person at their location inside the Thorp Building. Members will be able to use the libraries at both locations.