We are celebrating one year of helping people in the Bristol area to borrow!
Back in May 2021 we opened Bristol’s first Library of Things on Kingswood high street, focused on growing a community of borrowers across the city who share resources such as tools for DIY and gardening projects, kit for adventures and parties, and things for cleaning and to entertain.
Over the past year the Library of Things catalogue has increased to nearly 500 things that can be borrowed, through donations of unused things from the local community, and the opening hours have been expanded to be more convenient for more people.
You can join up with an annual membership and then borrow anything you like for free, as much and as often as you like.
The top ten most popular things to borrow have been a pressure washer, multi-detector, carpet cleaner, garden shredder, wallpaper stripper, orbital sander, cake stand, projector, strimmer, drill and projector. These are all things that our borrowers only use every now and then. By having these things stored and maintained at the Library of Things it frees up space in our homes, as well as helping our wallets and the planet too.
There’s been a lot of energy, thought and action happening in the past year to make the Library of Things a reality for Bristol, and we’d like to thank everyone who has supported us. Our thanks go out to our people – our volunteer librarians and thing technicians, those who help behind the scenes and out and about to make sure we’re meeting the needs of the community and running smoothly, and to all those who have borrowed instead of bought, tried before they have bought and given us words of encouragement. This first year also wouldn’t have been possible without financial support from individuals, South Gloucestershire Council, Brevio and Sovereign Housing. We’re very grateful for their belief in our idea to bring this resource to Bristol. So however you’ve supported us – thank you!
If you’d like to find out more about joining or getting involved with Share Bristol visit us at 1-5 High Street, Kingswood or look online at www.sharebristol.org.uk.
