Lindsay Turner, Author at Share Bristol

Frenchay Library of Things: location announcement

We are thrilled to announce the future location of our third site, which will be hosted at the University of the West of England, Bristol. Thanks to the support of the community – including many of you! – as well as our match funders, Aviva and the Mortgage Advice Bureau Foundation, we have already raised £10,000 (and counting!) through our Crowdfunder, to help us to open this new site in the coming months.

Current and future members of the Library of Things will be able to make use of all three sites, bringing sharing closer to home for those in North Bristol. The site will be accessible by public transport, as it will be located next to the main bus stops at UWE Bristol. There will also be short-term parking available by arrangement for those picking up or returning bulky items, like carpet cleaners, mitre saws, lawnmowers, or gazebos.

More members, more Things!

Alongside a successful Crowdfunder, our membership keeps growing, and so does our library catalogue! We now have more than 700 members of our Library of Things, and more than 1700 items to borrow across our existing sites in Kingswood and Bedminster. Our dedicated volunteers have been sorting, cleaning, testing and adding around 100 new items to the Library of Things catalogue each month. (Why not join them? More info on volunteering for Share Bristol here).

Things that have been added to our Library Catalogue recently include dehumidifiers and soldering kits, as well as exciting new road closure kits to help you get the kids playing out or plan a street party!

Check out our Wishlist!

With a third site in the works, we’re still looking for new Things to fill it with. As the next site will be hosted at UWE Bristol, we’re particularly looking for things like games, sports equipment, and hosting gear – things that might be particularly useful for students. However we’ll still be offering firm favourites like carpet cleaners, DIY tools and gardening equipment, so that all our members in North Bristol have access to what they need. Visit our wishlist to find out more about what we’re looking for and how to donate.

Stay tuned for more news as we progress plans for our Frenchay Library of Thing. In the meantime, consider buying (or renewing) your membership, or making a donation via our Crowdfunder, so your impact can be doubled: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/bring-a-library-of-things-to-frenchay

Help us bring sharing to North Bristol

We are thrilled to announce that Share Bristol is raising funds to open a third site for our Library of Things. Help us bringing sharing to North Bristol, by supporting our Crowdfunder.

Photo credit: Titch Photographic

Last year saw incredible support from Share Bristol community for our Bedminster Library of Things Crowdfunder, which enabled us to open a location on East St in addition to our original site in Kingswood. This summer, we have secured another match funding offer from the Aviva Community Fund. This means that for every pound you donate, Aviva will also donate a pound. But this isn’t just a donation that will help make sure that North Bristol gets access to a Library of Things closer to home. There’s also a clear benefit for you. A reward of one (or more!) year of borrowing awaits, in return for your contribution to our Crowdfunder.

There are now at least 1500 Things available to borrow across the current two sites. Share Bristol’s dedicated volunteers have been sorting, cleaning, testing and adding around 100 new items to the Library of Things catalogue each month over the summer. There’s never been a better time to join – or renew your membership of – Share Bristol’s Library of Things.

Annual membership costs £50 per year (less than a pound a week!) and then everything is free to borrow. A £50 reward, purchased through the Crowdfunder page, gives you a voucher to start your membership whenever you choose and Share Bristol will receive £100 in total! This will make a real difference to our small charity, supporting the continued success of our Library of Things in Kingswood and Bedminster, as well as enabling us to expand our reach further across Bristol, helping more people to borrow rather than buy.

One of the principles behind Share Bristol is that borrowing should be affordable for everyone. So Supporter memberships for those who can afford it are priced at £80, to help subsidise Concession memberships for those who really can’t afford Standard membership. Concession rates are £20 for a year, and every £20 donation will also attract a £20 gift voucher – enough for a year of membership for someone on benefits, or a down payment for a Standard Membership. A pure donation of £30 or more will help us to support our Concession members and ensure that everyone is able to borrow from their local Library of Things.

The takeaway from all of this is: if you’re going to join (or renew your membership to) Share Bristol, or are able to support us with a donation, please do so through the Crowdfunder page, as we will get double the income, thanks to Aviva’s Community Fund.

You can find out more and donate here: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/bring-a-library-of-things-to-frenchay