Libraries are the original experts in lending. This is what happens when they go beyond books!
Lend and Mend is setting up making, repairing and hiring hubs in 9 Scottish libraries so that local people can access sewing equipment and popular tools needed for everyday DIY and creative projects. Making these resources available free of charge in the community is a way of tackling the cost of living crisis at the same time as reducing waste and countering social isolation by bringing people together.
The first phase of the project saw sewing machines, overlockers and embroidery machines being installed in each of the participating libraries for people to use. The installation of the machines were supported by workshops to teach key sewing skills to users and potential volunteers for the projects. Many libraries also chose to install fabric swap stations for people to donate and take items of fabric, while others have held clothing swap days around particular themes with a focus on children’s clothing in particular e.g.
In phase two of the project which is launching soon, the participating libraries will be hiring out some of the most popular tools needed for home DIY activities. Some of the sewing machines can also be hired for use at home.
Lend and Mend is delivered by Scottish Libraries in partnership with the nine participating libraries. The idea was inspired by COP 26, which was taking place in Glasgow at the same time as the libraries team were developing their own public libraries strategy. The team wanted to find a way to align their strategy with the Sustainable Development Goals and they were inspired by initiatives such as the Deichman Library in Oslo, Norway, which had established a large maker space in 2015 for local people to learn, create, repair and share, as well as projects in Australia which were set up to allow holidaymakers to hire out beach kit such as surfboards, buckets and spades for use during their time at the beach rather than buying new.
To make this idea a reality, the libraries team applied to the John Lewis Circular Fund and were successful in winning £300,000 of funding towards the project. The project has also received help and advice from the Share and Repair Network in Scotland.
As we discussed here, tool libraries and other kinds of community sharing initiatives have become more popular in recent years with many projects being set up in shopping centres, community centres or their own dedicated venues on the high street. However, provided there is space and willingness, there are some big advantages to lending projects being located in existing libraries.
As the originators of the sharing economy, traditional community libraries already have much of the infrastructure that’s needed to make this kind of project work. Lend and Mend has been able to add tools to the existing library catalogue, allowing them to be borrowed in the same way as a book, while sewing machines can be booked in the same way as someone would book a PC. This avoids the need for projects to set up their own software for hires and inventory management.
Libraries are also well established community hubs, which may make it easier for people to find and use the new service. Crucially, most people in the UK are already used to the idea of borrowing a book from a library, so this may be an easier segway into borrowing other kinds of things. This is an important consideration when thinking about how to shift social norms from buying towards borrowing: avoiding social stigma and making borrowing feel as ‘normal’ as possible is vital if projects want to gain traction beyond an audience of already committed environmentalists.
Lend and Mend is still a relatively new initiative but the project has already had many positive outcomes with the sewing and mending aspect proving particularly popular. So much so that local councillors in Midlothian have sought extra funding to enable the mending hubs to be rolled out to another three local libraries in the locality.
The machines are often in use and they have brought different groups into the library, including younger people who have been taking the opportunity to upcycle, mend and personalise their outfits. There are also examples of people learning to sew and make their own clothes for the first time, while talented sewers from refugee communities have been able to access the equipment needed to share their skills. In this way, the project has been really beneficial for boosting wellbeing and reducing loneliness and social isolation in the wake of Covid-19.
Having the sewing machines in the library has also been very positive for library staff since it turns out many librarians already had sewing skills and now they have a good opportunity to use them! There is now interest from other libraries in the UK in doing similar, after the Inverclyde team did a talk on Lend and Mend at the British Libraries Living Knowledge Network.
Lend and Mend has also led to collaboration with other local projects with a similar agenda, including the Edinburgh Remakery and Repair What You Wear in Aberdeen.
To date, the lending aspects of the project have been harder to establish than the repairing and making elements. Despite great advice and support from the Share and Repair network, getting the libraries set up for tool lending remains challenging as a result of the level of risk assessments and PAT testing required for insurance purposes, especially when everything has to go through the local authority’s existing processes for this.
Sadly, this is one of a number of situations where the regulatory environment is set up to favour buying rather than hiring: anyone can go to a hardware store and buy a cordless drill without the shop fearing repercussions if that customer were to injure themselves using it. However, a tool library wanting to hire out the exact same product faces considerably more red tape to avoid litigation risks.
To reduce these kinds of challenges, groups wanting to run similar projects might want to think about the kind of items that they hire. Lending clothing, for example, or other non-electrical items like folding tables and gazebos for parties could be less problematic in this respect.
Like many similar projects, Lend and Mend also has to contend with the question of how to make itself financially sustainable in the longer-term when the grant funding has finished. At the moment, all hires are free, but in the longer-term there may be a need to move to more of a subscription based membership model to make sure that repairs, replacements and running costs can be covered. There are also implications for staff time, since the dedicated project officer role that was created to get the project off the ground has already expired and, as a result, activities are now being carried by the permanent staff team at the library service, all of whom have their regular roles to fulfill in addition.
For more information about Lend and Mend, visit the Facebook group: www.facebook.com/lendandmend