Todd Hubler
Madison’s newest library will have its grand opening on Saturday, May 2. It’s not a place for the latest novel and Internet access, though. The Atwood Tool Library is “just like a regular library,” says Jessica Ray, its director, but “you check out tools, instead.”
Similar libraries can be found in cities across the country, including Dubuque, Duluth, Manhattan, New Orleans, Phoenix and San Francisco. Ray first encountered one in Portland, Ore., where she moved from Madison with her partner several years back. When the couple decided to move back to Madison in 2013, Ray asked herself what she could do to give back to the community. She decided to start a tool library.
With the help of volunteers, the library (a partner project with Sustainable Atwood) has so far collected more than 400 tools.
The library had a “soft open” at the end of March. As long as you live in the area and pay $20 a year (or $200 for a lifetime membership), “you can come in and check out home repair or bike repair or gardening and landscaping tools,” Ray says. Tools include those for carpentry and woodworking, gardening, painting, plumbing and more.
The tool library has another mission: “To show people that we can all share,” says Ray.
She has another, private motivation. “My dad, a couple years ago, was diagnosed with cancer,” says Ray. “He couldn’t work as much. He’s been a carpenter all his life. He had to end up selling all of his tools in order to pay the bills.” Ray remembered this as she was beginning the library. “What I can do is try to help other families who might be in a situation like this, or something similar,” she says. Her father died in January. “It’s pretty important to me to get it up and running and be successful,” says Ray.
Grand opening festivities will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, May 2, at Sustainable Atwood’s quarters in Zion Lutheran Church, 2165 Linden Ave. Demonstrations on the featured theme of gardening will come from area master gardeners, Madison Greenhouse Store, Dane County Seed Library and others. For more information see sustainableatwood.org/tool-library.
