Starting a tool and gaming library

At my friends of the library meeting last night we talked about starting a board game library. Our librarian when to a board game café and is looking into starting one at the library. The focus would be on higher priced games and card games. I brought up the idea of a tool library. Something that I feel could work for our area. One of the members said this could be a way for people to donate tools from loved ones who have passed on. So have you used a public tool library and was it a good experience? What tools would be good to have many and which tools would create headaches? Have you used a gaming library or been to a board game café? Any ideas on games to get or to avoid? What permaculture card or board games are fun to play?

I have never heard of a tool library, that's an interesting thought!
I'd say non-electric tools, electric ones take damage too easy.
Hand drills, hand planes, odd sizes of sockets and wrenches.
Interesting thought! I'll chew on it...

:D

My local library only lends books, audiobooks, and other print material, but I'd heard of some that lend cake pans. So you got me curious about what the other options are. I found libraries that lend everything from ladders and kayaks to musical instruments and film/recording equipment!

Most tool libraries that I found are dedicated to tools, not book libraries that also have tools. Maybe because of space/storage issues? I would expect tools that are infrequently used by the average homeowner or tools for hobbies to try out before investing too much. Here's a tool lending library with an online inventory list of over 200 items: https://commpartnership.myturn.com/library/

I've never personally played the game, but I've heard great things about Wildcraft. https://learningherbs.com/wildcraft/

The library in Arlington, Massachusetts has a thing library (pots, paintings, minor tools) and I asked them if they'd get a scythe and they said sounds good but I don't think they actually did it.

My suggestion is take a refundable deposit,  and deduct for repairs needed after it's returned.  Better to be a jerk upfront than try to enforce something later. And if the weakest link gets to ruin the tools for everyone then that will end it soon.

Tool care instructions need to be included with every borrow.

As for games I can only think of Paul's playing cards.

Good luck!

We have a tool library in town https://victoriatoollibrary.org/

Usually, they have a paid membership which pays for someone with skills to maintain and repair tools when they come back.

When I lived in town, I would have been a power user of this kind of service, but alas, we didn't have one in town back then.  

r ranson wrote:Usually, they have a paid membership which pays for someone with skills to maintain and repair tools when they come back.

This. While a "library" already has the lending setup, and a catchy name... there's also a skill share component that might better come from pairing with a maker-space.
A "tool librarian" who could say "This, is the right tool for your job, and you'll need these bits as well..." and also be able to tell if a tool is still in good order when returned.
Also a maker space could offer access to more/larger workshop tools and training for users.

Most libraries in this part of the world have free (and sometimes required) classes.  It's usually included in the cost of membership, or funded by the government because local resilience (aka, people having the skills they need to survive an emergency) is a big part of the sustainability goals of the local governments.  

For example, the seed library needs one to attend an afternoon seed saving class before you can borrow seeds.  

The maker space locally is a bit too militant about training for my liking.  Even if I was willing to pay the additional fees for the classes, I still don't get to use the tools myself and have to hire someone with better training to do them.  On top of that, the classes were often too infrequently (once every year or once every two years) to be useful.  Cheaper and faster to buy the equipment myself, especially since I already know how to use the tools.  

But I think this is a problem with my local maker space.  It got very clicky and goes to great lengths to make it difficult to join unless you are good friends with an established member.

I imagine a good maker space would be a lot nicer.  

Though our local library does not loan objects other than books, I have enjoyed the free seeds and free books that are available there. The seeds are in an old card file drawer and the books are outside on a cart. The idea is to bring local seeds and take some. Many people donate books that the library does not need so those are the freebees. I have also noticed that the little free libraries around the neighborhood seem to naturally be expanding throughout the pandemic to include games, cooking tools, toys and other useful objects. The little free libraries encourage people to take a book and to leave a book. I suppose that is the same with other things: take something, leave something. I have a lot of tools, puzzles and games that I don't need and some tools that I have misplaced and would like to replace. Personally, I would prefer the swap approach when it comes to seeds, games and tools.

Many years ago at the library near me, you could check out paintings! Nicely framed, neat pics. I picked 4 spots in the house, put nails up, and every 6 weeks got new pictures to hang there. It was VERY cool.

I haven't used a tool library myself, but we're starting one at church, in the shed that was just built (90% finished) to house the snowblower tractor thing for our parking lot and sidewalks. (It was more economical to buy a piece of equipment than to pay for snow removal service.) The basic tools will be in a publicly accessible spot, and folks can just help themselves without any actual check-out process. Other things will be in the secured part of the shed, with an online request/scheduling process. Hopefully I'll learn some things about how our tool library should be run from this thread!

My FLGS (friendly local game store) rents out games and puzzles. I'm pretty sure it's free to play them at the store, and actually we've tried to rent games but the owner just lets us borrow them. He and my husband have known each other for more than a decade, plus we shop there regularly. But even if we had to pay to borrow them, we would - it's a great way to try out a game before deciding whether to buy it, or to find out about a game that wasn't on our radar. I think the ability to borrow games (or even play them in the library but not take them home, if there are side rooms to do so) makes a lot of sense!

I am a board game fanatic, to the point that I design them and hang out with other board game designers. It's a major hobby of mine. The local library branches here have board game collections they lend out (as well as items such as fishing poles and even telescopes...!). I also started a local pub gaming night, which over time evolved into a regular, packed evening, and since then a board game pub has rolled into town. I'd like to think I had some hand in that (if you'll pardon my delusions of grandeur).

Regarding board games to add to a collection for lending, I'd suggest some of the more "hobby" and Eurostyle games, and/or hobby games that have gone mainstream. Some recent examples include:
Catan/Settlers of Catan
Pandemic and its variants (should you not be troubled by the subject material)
Forbidden Island and Forbidden Desert (which are less-topical re-themes and updates of Pandemic and I think better games, overall)
Ticket to Ride
Sushi Go!
Can't Stop (Though this is older and may be difficult to find. It's a verifiable classic, and personally speaking it's my favourite dice game.)

One of the things I'm investing in now are a few versions of the piecepack. I think this concept fits in with sustainability quite well. In general, it's to board games what a deck of playing cards is to card games. Several dozen pieces: tokens, tiles, cards, etc. to which hundreds of different game rule-sets are applied. For each game, you use a selection of the components of the piecepack to play. You can even make your own rules and create your own games to share with others who have a piecepack. The original concept of piecepack is in the Public Domain, and you can even manufacture your own and release it to the world, along with your own custom game rules.

A couple piecepack sets/games I've invested in recently include:
The Infinite Board Game
504 (this is the name of the board game, believe it or not)
Pyramid Arcade (this is a custom piecepack made by Looney Labs)

As an aside: Because I will soon be moving and radically downsizing, I will be giving away or donating most of my board game collection and investing solely in piecepacks. As far as sustainability is concerned, I am convinced they're the way to go.

These sound like some really good ideas.

I like the idea of having a game library and maybe one Saturday a month have a board game café.

I will recommend getting the Permaculture Playing Cards by Paul Wheaton  

Cassie started this thread about creative card games with Permaculture Playing Cards

This thread has some ideas for games to play with the Permaculture Playing Cards.

I found another thread about card games for lockdown that also may offer some ideas.

Judith started this threads about Board-games-games-winter that sounds fun.

This is a fun thread about Permaculture Educational Games

I really like the idea of a Tool Library though I am wondering if the Friends of the Library have that kind of expense in their budget.

I would like to suggest having a Saturday Tool Day once a month. Or maybe a Repair Saturaday while The Friends of the Library could sponsor something like this: RepairCafe

This thread might offer some other suggestions Repair-DIY

I've heard of a few permaculture games. I'll rummage around in my brain, and see if I can remember!


Wildcraft Game This isn't exactly permaculture, but it's very permie-friendly. It's also kid friendly. You go on a hike to pick huckleberries for grandma, and on the way you get various wild plant cards, that you can use to treat the bee stings, allergies, bruises, etc, you get on your journey.



Permaculture Playing Cards of course! These are beautiful, informative, and fun. It's a normal deck of cards, but with a different permie thing on each card!



Food Forest Game You can Download a PDF and print it up yourself or buy it pre-printed

Wildlife Web by Thomas Elpel. It's like pokemon, but with actual animals!



Shanleya's Quest Card Game by Thomas Elpel. Another good one for kids and adults. It teaches plant identification.

I play a LOT of games with a 6 year old. So, from a mom-of-a-little-one's perspective, let me add on to this idea:

Stephen B. Thomas wrote:Regarding board games to add to a collection for lending, I'd suggest some of the more "hobby" and Eurostyle games, and/or hobby games that have gone mainstream. Some recent examples include:
Catan/Settlers of Catan

For her age and stage, we have found the Catan Dice Game to be marvelous. It teaches goal-directed (competitive) play, strategy-development and -adjustment to meet objectives and sub-goals, and somewhat flexible, generative thinking to make the best options out of random chance (it is a dice game, after all!).

Permaculture design is also goal-directed, and requires constant pivoting with chosen strategies as things change, often due to random chance which we try to make the best of. I think the Catan Dice Game is a wonderful way to get this cognitive skill set working for budding Permaculturists of any age.

Our library has a few things that are technology tools to check out, like a film/slide scanner, video projector, and a thermal imaging camera, (maybe some other stuff...? their website is poorly administered, oh well.)
These are the sorts of things that you need once in a long while, or to get something done that you may never need to do again...

There are also pieces of loaner tech stuff, like power cords and adapters, printers, laptops, for use within the library for those without them for whatever reason.

Another thought, might be simple repair toolkits: hammer, nail puller, screwdrivers, adjustable wrench, pliers, putty knife, egg-beater drill and a set of drill bits... The sort of stuff you need when you move in or move out, and you have packed/haven't unpacked, or left behind.