Have a small project at home, but don’t want to invest money in tools you won’t use more than a few times? Want to get your garden started but don’t have the full complement of instruments to plant your favorites?
The Cherry Hill Public Library’s got your back.
The library recently introduced a new initiative to gather a collection of gently-used gardening implements for a tool library to go along with its already-established seed library.
Donations are currently being accepted for the following household and gardening implements: hammers, pliers, levels, retractable tape-measurers, screwdrivers, rulers, hand saws, spanners, wrenches, shovels, spades, trowels, shears, rakes and buckets.
“We’ve already got one gardening set, and that’s what we’re kicking this whole thing off with. It went out the day we cataloged it,” said T.J. Lamanna, emerging technologies librarian.
“We have a seed library where companies will send us seeds that may be a little bit outdated, and I don’t run that program so I don’t know all the intricacies, but what I did buy for that program are things like soil testers. I think we gave out over 2,000 packets of seeds already this year. We want to make sure that when people get their seeds, they have the tools to plant them the right way.”
Lamanna said the genesis of the idea occurred around the holidays last year, when he started the conversation with his superiors. A simple internet search turned up that the Oakland Public Library possessed a large tool library, and while he noted Cherry Hill couldn’t do something on quite that scale, the idea was a solid one.
He noted that there are some residents in Cherry Hill who are either first-time home owners or apartment dwellers, who might not want to go to The Home Depot and spend a lot of money for a small project.
The library decided to initiate the program after Earth Day, when residents are finished spring cleaning, at the time when people start doing their gardening and are more busy outside.
“I want them to come to the library, borrow one, do what they need to do and return it. We’re trying to source things from the community so nothing gets thrown away. If we do get things that are not usable, we can recycle them,” Lamanna added.
Lamanna said the library is shying away from the more complex, electric machinery which holds the greatest potential for misuse or injury, while also planning on issuing safety instructions in the future.
“We’re eliminating all things powered like electric saws, pneumatic devices, staple guns. When you come down to it, just about anything can be used as a weapon. We’re acting in good faith. If someone gets hurt, it’s really ‘buyer beware’ in a lot of ways, but I’m not trying to minimize the safety aspect,” he said, when asked about any objections to the types of tools that could be part of the library.
“Once we see how many tools and what kind we get, we’ll probably include rules on how to use them, take precautions, lend out safety goggles and gloves.”
Residents who might have a bag or two of these items already at their residence, or who might think about purchasing them for donation, are asked to drop them off at the Circulation Desk during normal business hours, which can be found at https://chplnj.org/.
If you plan on dropping off more than a small bag of tools, Lamanna suggests you head to the staff entrance (on the side of the building), where someone will help you unload. That entrance is available Monday-Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
For more information about the new tool library, contact Lamanna via email at: TLamannaJr@chplnj.org.
