Access to tools enables good projects, and membership to libraries supports community sharing; Maine neighborhoods deserve both!

We are a group of committed Mainers who have been using our spare time to start a tool lending library in Portland, Maine. We include tool experts, library enthusiasts, community organizers and designers. We are people who know through personal experience how a tool library could support garden projects, community work parties, and kitchen adventures. We know this type of creativity and drive exists among Portland, ME area residents, so show us we’re right, and help us launch the first tool lending library in New England.

The Maine Tool Library - Portland (MTL) will be a not-for-profit lending library, circulating a collection of tools. Located at 224 Anderson Street, the library will initially be open on Saturdays from 10-2. The collection will include gardening, landscaping, home improvement, and kitchen tools. This entity will be a membership-based community resource; it is a library for tools instead of books. Tools are loaned on a weekly schedule, allowing patrons to check them out during the library’s open hours with the expectation that they will then return them a week later. Acquisitions are strategically selected by elected members with continual opportunities for member input. MTL is a volunteer-run, self-governed entity which aims to be an inclusive network among laborers, designers, makers, crafters, artists and D.Y.I.ers in the vibrant Portland community.

We are a project of the Resilience Hub and our location for our first year has been generously subsidized by Aikido of Maine. 

You can see the details of our governance plan, our budget, our logistics and development calendar, and our interim tool library board here: http://portlandmainetoollibrary.org

What We Need & What You Get

We will use the funds raised from this campaign to pay for some initial start-up and operating costs.

These costs include:

• Basic tool acquisition
• Liability insurance 
  
• Legal documents 
• Rent for our subsidized space
• Minimal office, web and advertising supplies
• Indiegogo thank you gifts

Please share our links, learn more, and join the conversation! In order to make this succeed we will be looking for donations of time, tools and monetary resources, and hope to give a lot back in return. If you want to give even more, or provide a different type of contribution we are willing to work with like-minded businesses, organizations or individuals; don’t hesitate to contact us!