The new North Omaha Tool Library opens its doors for lending this Saturday, March 31 at 9 a.m. at at 2417 Burdette in the Union for Contemporary Art.
The mission of the North Omaha Tool Library is to supply tools and instructional workshops to the community of North Omaha. … A tool library functions like a book lending library, just with tools. From shovels to sanders, we hope to collect a wide variety of tools that people can use to bring their projects to life!
The library is completely free and volunteer-supported, serving an area stretching from 16th to 33rd Streets, Hamilton to Spencer.
An article on TreeHugger yesterday discussed the growing popularity of sharing groups, clothing exchanges and other “collaborative consumption,” including the Berkeley Tool Lending Library.
Tool libraries and clothing exchanges inevitably bring with them the concern of pulling money out of the economy and taking business away from hardware and clothing stores. But Sami Grover at TreeHugger argues that this dilemma requires “a mental recalibration of what the economy is supposed to do.”
Sure, for each person who gets a free outfit at a clothing swap, that’s slightly less money pouring in to the retail and apparel industries—and slightly fewer jobs will be created as a result. But at the same time […] they have received the benefit they were looking for at zero cost to themselves, minimal cost to the environment, and all the while making an investment in social capital and community connectivity.
The economy must serve our well-being, not the other way around.
For more information on the North Omaha Tool Library, visit their website at omahatools.org.