LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A new initiative in Louisville will allow people to rent household items, gardening tools and more.
The Louisville Tool Library, located on Logan Street in the Shelby Park neighborhood, is designed a community lending library for just about everything but books. It will have a large collection of tools that people may need to help in the garage, kitchen, backyard, garden and more.
"We are 100% donated, 100% volunteer run and 100% donated," said Katherine Keeney, founding volunteer for the library. "We are a lateral kind of leadership group in the way we are all volunteer-run. So we have 500-600 tools now but we are hoping to grow that number exponentially and get all of our volunteers involved."
People must become a member of the library in order to borrow, and when doing so, the library asks for a $120 donation. That isn't binding, though, because the idea is to be accessible across financial backgrounds.
"The goal is to make membership available for all while keeping a sustainable lending library open for our community," the library's membership packet reads. "We do this by suggesting a $120 annual membership contribution. If this isn’t in your toolbelt, we also offer a sliding scale option based on 0.1% of your annual income (ex: if you make $40k/year consider $40). If a financial contribution doesn’t fit your wheelbarrow, talk with a librarian and consider membership via service through volunteering."
Keeney said the new idea is something Louisville needs, particularly given the status of many of its homes.
"We are in a city where a lot of people are renovating old houses, where a lot of people need access to things," she said. "And we are happy we are able to provide that."
Everything is borrowed on a seven-day calendar, and while there are no mandatory late fees, the library asks for a donation if something is kept past its due date.
"It's a nonprofit lending system," Keeney said. "It works very similar to a book library, but instead of books, you check out tools."
The library's grand opening will be held 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. For more information, click here.
Copyright 2022 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.
