By Sam Utterberg
Murphy News Service
If you find yourself needing a hammer, saw or lawn mower and you don’t want to spend money to buy one, don’t worry. A tool lending library is coming soon to Northeast Minneapolis.
The Northeast Minneapolis Tool Library could be open by spring 2015, said organizer Michele Ross.
“As a resident of Northeast Minneapolis, you can go in and borrow a hammer or a lawn mower for a given rental period, and then return the tool,” Ross said.
Members of the group will have to pay a $50 annual fee, but they can take advantage of all the library has to offer. The library will also offer a workspace for apartment dwellers, so they have access to tools and space to work on projects. Artists will also enjoy the free space, Ross said.
The idea for the library was inspired by similar organizations in the Pacific Northwest, specifically in Portland and Seattle.
On the Northeast Portland Tool Library’s Facebook page, one person commented, “It’s like walking into the best tool shed ever! Fantastic selection of tools from carpentry to gardening and everywhere in between.”
Another comment read, “What an awesome community resource! Mitering saw, check. Jig saw, check. Clamps, check. Square with level, check. Safety equipment, check…all in my first visit!”
Ross wants the library to be a place for community events; a place for people to get together. Anyone interested in getting involved in volunteering for the library could attend the September 2014 board meeting of the Nicollet Island East Bank Neighborhood Association. It will be held on Sept. 25, 2014 from 6:30-8:30 pm in the Casanova Room at DeLaSalle High School off of Hennepin Avenue. Interested citizens could also attend the start-up meeting on Sept. 24 from 6–8 pm at the Northeast Community Library on Central Avenue.
If you can’t make the meeting, contact the Northeast Minneapolis Tool Library on its Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/NortheastMinneapolisToolLibrary.
Sam Utterberg is a junior at the University of Minnesota studying Journalism and English.