Celebrating the 4 years since Share Bristol opened Bristol’s first Library of Things
Share Bristol opened our Kingswood Library of Things mid 2021. Four years later we have three Library of Things locations, over 1,000 members, over 1,800 Things available to borrow and we’ve had over 10,000 borrows! All this was made possible by our wonderful borrowing community and our dedicated team of volunteers, staff and trustees with over 6,000 hours of volunteer time going into maintaining our Things, looking after our members and generally keeping everything running smoothly.
Key milestones from our first 4 years include becoming a registered charity in November 2023, opening our second location in Bedminster in May 2024 and opening our third on UWE’s Frenchay campus in February 2025.
Why is borrowing so important?
- It’s better for the planet. Manufacturing new items has a huge carbon impact and disposing of items can also have a whole host of negative environmental impacts. By borrowing the Things you need from a Library of Things like Share Bristol instead of buying your own, you’re helping to cut down on those emissions.
- It saves space in your home. Many of us don’t have lofts, sheds and garages where we can store our own DIY and gardening tools, camping equipment and other occasionally used Things. Borrowing from a Library of Things means you have access to the Things you need when you need them without needing to store them or maintain them in the meantime.
- It saves money. A lot of the Things you can borrow from Share Bristol are expensive to buy new. At Share Bristol we have a one off annual membership fee that includes as much borrowing as you like throughout the year with no loan fees. Although our standard membership price is £50 we do also offer a £20 concessionary rate to make sure we’re as accessible as possible. For those that can afford to, we also have an £80 supporter membership to support us to continue doing what we do best.
If you’re a fan of the numbers, take a look at these graphs to see how far we’ve come over the past 4 years…
