A group of volunteers at an East Bayside nonprofit will open Portland’s first tool-lending library later this month.
Starting March 21, the public can borrow one of the dozens of tools at the Maine Tool Library Portland for a $50 membership fee. Located at the Resilience Hub at 224 Andersen St., the library will be staffed by volunteers who will help members take out and return items.
The library, the result of a crowd-funding campaign last year that raised $13,000, will be open on Wednesdays from 4 to 7 p.m., and on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., according to the library’s website, portlandmainetoollibrary.org. The inventory of tools is available for perusal at the website.
The lending library follows a model that has found success in other cities around the country, where access to basic tools lowers the cost for members of the public to be creative and solve problems.
So far, the library’s collection includes small hand-tools, garden trowels and measuring tools, and larger items, such as circular saws, sanders and other power tools. There are also kitchen appliances, such as a pasta maker and a table-top cider press.
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