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The idea of a Library of Things finds its origins in a tool-lending library started by the Grosse Pointe Rotary Club in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, in 1943 to help improve the skills of local youth and address the tool scarcity facing the community during the Second World War.

This concept saw a resurgence in the 1970s with the first generation of tool-lending libraries, the first of which appeared in 1976 in Columbus, Ohio, run by the city.

The idea of sharing tools spread across the world, with models being adopted here in the UK. The term “Library of Things” was popularized by a grassroots experiment started in London in 2014, inspired by the Toronto Tool Library in Canada.

Today, in the UK, there are almost 100 tool libraries up and down the country, according to Ethical Consumer, with the Bude Library of Things joining this march forward to a more sustainable model of tool use. This initiative places community at its heart to help save space, reduce waste, increase accessibility, and lower associated emissions.

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