It's a safe bet that no one is ever going to "shush" visitors to the new St. Paul Tool Library.
In fact, with shelves holding dozens of available power tools and the ability to use table saws and drill presses on site, a cacophony of home improvement noises is welcome. The din is proof that the library's philosophy of making tools and home repair accessible to all is gaining traction.
"The ultimate goal is to have a network system of tool libraries," said Thomas Ebert, co-founder of the Northeast Minneapolis Tool Library that opened nearly two years ago and served as the model for the new St. Paul branch. "The idea is, whether it's tools for home improvement or tools for the kitchen or toys for the kids or camping gear, to reduce the barrier to access."
Opened March 4 and already boasting 60 new members, the St. Paul Tool Library charges households $55 a year. For that amount, members can borrow any tool on the shelf at the St. Paul or Northeast libraries for a week at a time. If St. Paul doesn't have a tool — its inventory of about 800 tools still is filling out with donations — chances are that Northeast, with its nearly 3,000 tools in stock, will. In two years, Northeast has grown to nearly 400 members.
Browse the shelves in the new St. Paul space on the lower level of the former American Can factory at 755 N. Prior Av. and you'll find power drills, orbital sanders, concrete mixers, wrenches, saws and hammers galore. The St. Paul library is open Tuesdays and Fridays from 5 to 8 p.m. and on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Between the two sites, the libraries are open five days a week.
To Caleb Belleveau, St. Paul's new tool librarian, the concept of tool libraries is nearly a no-brainer. Chances are, if you own a home, you have tools that you've bought and haven't used more than once or twice, he said. So people tend to fall into one of two camps: Those who have a bunch of tools they seldom use taking up space, and those who struggle to find a hammer when needed.
"I'm the guy among my friends who has a whole bunch of tools," he said. "But most people don't. This is all about access over ownership."
Now under an umbrella Minnesota Tool Library system, the Northeast and St. Paul branches are the first satellites and may someday be joined by others in south or north Minneapolis, said John Bailey, one of several folks who pushed for St. Paul to get a branch. The nonprofit tool libraries are part of a growing trend toward reuse and repair, said Bailey, who is a board member for the St. Paul branch. In all, there are about 60-70 tool libraries in cities across the country.