We are big fans of shared resources.  After all, why buy something when you can borrow it ??  Especially when such things might be low use, take up a lot of space and be expensive.

This is a discussion which comes up frequently in our household – do we really need a collection of sanders, drills, sewing machines and the like?

Remember the West Oxford Eco Library?

Some of you may remember the Eco Library, which was part of our Low Carbon Living Programme, from which participants could borrow and test lightbulbs, as well as radiator boosters, eco washing balls, energy monitors and standby busters.

We have also been hoping for many years to set up a virtual shed, a way of facilitating person-to-person loans of low-use equipment via our website, for items such as hedge trimmers, shredders, lawnmowers, bike trailers, photo printers etc.

To date, we have lacked the person capacity to make the latter happen, but we are really pleased to see this is being made into a reality by others in Oxford: coming soon, the Oxford Library of Things!

Introducing the Oxford Library of Things!

The brilliant Oxford Circular Collective, a Community Action Group of keen volunteers who act to implement a viable example of a local sustainable circular economy in a carbon-neutral, healthy and fun way, have set up a meeting next week to bring plans to replicate London’s Library of Things to fruition.

The meeting is on November 28, at 18:30, at East Oxford Community Centre.

We hope to be there, so come and join and find out more.  And in the meantime, here is a cool little introduction to the London model from the BBC:

What kinds of things would YOU like to see in a lending library?

Why not comment on the facebook page and let us know what you’d like to be able to borrow from a lending library.

Ideas from this end include:

• baby paraphernalia, including clothes and toys, which are often only useful for a couple of months per baby
• camping gear
• (inflatable) canoes
• kids’ bikes….