[HN Gopher] Share Bristol - A Library of Things
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       Share Bristol - A Library of Things
        
       Author : edward
       Score  : 34 points
       Date   : 2023-10-27 10:56 UTC (1 days ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.sharebristol.org.uk)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.sharebristol.org.uk)
        
       | qubex wrote:
       | As a Bristolian native living abroad I'm absolutely fascinated
       | and would really like to set up something analogous.
        
         | qingcharles wrote:
         | Ex-pat Bristolian checking in ;)
        
       | lukevp wrote:
       | We have a lot of these at the libraries in Portland! You can
       | borrow all sorts of stuff for free - board games, puzzles, baking
       | stuff, tools, a huge gamut. They also have 3d printers, button
       | making machines, tshirt presses, sewing machines, cricut
       | machines, and all sorts of stuff like that that you can use for
       | free (but not borrow).
        
         | robinwarren wrote:
         | That's really cool to hear. We used to make use of the toy
         | library in Bristol when we lived there, it was a great way to
         | get toys the kids could play with for 2 weeks then return them
         | when they got bored :)
        
       | daveoc64 wrote:
       | Most of the time HN feels a little alien to me being from
       | England.
       | 
       | But here we have something that's less than 3 miles from where I
       | live.
        
         | southwesterly wrote:
         | I love it when my town gets onto HN.
        
           | qingcharles wrote:
           | Ooo, my lover. Bristol peeps out here representing.
        
         | flir wrote:
         | I don't think I've ever seen them open (check the location
         | history on google maps - the shutters are always down). But I
         | see from the website that the opening times are quite
         | staggered.
        
         | SamSkjord wrote:
         | Better not be Yate!
        
           | qingcharles wrote:
           | LOL, you reminded me of the "Totterdown" cover of Beautiful
           | South's _Rotterdam_ :
           | 
           | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3z9PMXZjATc
           | 
           | "... anywhere but Knowle."
        
       | Elucalidavah wrote:
       | So how well do you expect this to survive long-term? Surely
       | there's a reason I can find a rotary hammer drill rental, but not
       | a library-like borrowing?
        
         | wcerfgba wrote:
         | Rental services are usually privately-owned for-profit
         | businesses, whereas this is a community initiative, and
         | probably has lower overheads.
        
       | IshKebab wrote:
       | I live near this and looked into it a year or two ago. They
       | didn't really have anything difficult to get (e.g. I don't need
       | to borrow a drill or hand saw) but it looks like they've expanded
       | quite a bit since then!
        
       | diego_moita wrote:
       | Another one, in Edmonton, Canada :
       | http://www.edmontontoollibrary.ca/
        
       | k7vin wrote:
       | This is very cool. I'd love them to open source everything they
       | could to help kickstart as many people as possible to open such
       | libraries in their own cities/ neighborhood/ area. This is much
       | needed.
        
         | wcerfgba wrote:
         | I think the main difficulties here will be social, and a story
         | of how this all started and the cultural, legal, and
         | operational barriers they've overcome would be a valuable
         | contribution. I am reminded of pg's advice to "do things that
         | don't scale".
        
       | bambam3000 wrote:
       | My friend borrowed a tent from Frome's equivalent over the
       | summer. When he unpacked it at the site there were no pegs. He
       | managed to borrow pegs off other campers and got it set up. It
       | rained heavily that night and he quickly discovered the
       | waterproofing had worn off and his tent was actually absorbing
       | instead of repelling water. The water pooled in their tent and
       | gradually soaked all the bedding and possessions. He gave up and
       | went home in the morning.
        
         | Animats wrote:
         | Right. The quality of the borrowable things tends to stabilize
         | at just above total junk level.
        
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       (page generated 2023-10-28 23:01 UTC)