Why buy when you can share? At Edinburgh Tool Library you can borrow tools from our inventory of thousands of them. Don’t know how to use them? No problem! We bring members together to build and learn by sharing skills and knowledge.
How does the tool library work?
Return
Take them back, clean and on time, ready for the next borrower.
Participate
Join in classes, open sessions or events. Volunteers are always welcome!
Making an impact
By borrowing tools rather than buying them we have saved households an incredible £3 millions. A worthwhile saving considering the average drill is used just 13 minutes in its lifetime!
We protect the environment too; buying these tools would mean an extra 420 tonnes of CO2 pollution, the equivalent of driving a car around the world 180 times!
We have delivered 100+ community projects which have provided opportunities for communities, particularly young people, elderly and minority groups, to come together with our volunteers and learn new life and employability skills.
Do you have tools to donate?
We love to give your tools a new home. There are a few restrictions, however, on what tools we accept. Please read our tool donation guidelines carefully!
Is DIY your thing but you don’t know where to start?
We have many different programmes and groups that might spark your interest and fit what you need.
Learn how to repair things with the volunteers at Repair Café Edinburgh, a repair meet-up popping-up monthly in different venues around town! For ETL members and non-members.
Join our open sessions for makers with disabilities! We run it once a month at our Portobello workshop. Check our accessibility page for more info.
Keep your cycle (bike, trike, wheelchair, unicycle) in tip top shape with the volunteers at the Cycle Kitchen, a weekly open session for our members at our Meadowbank Tool Library!
Start your maker’s journey with the volunteers in our Leith and Portobello wood workshops! You can join beginner friendly open sessions run for our members every week but you’ll need first to attend an induction. Read more on our workshops page.
Volunteer at our next community builds to learn new skills and meet people from different communities! We run them 4 times a year as part of our Volunteer Assembly programme.
Or just pop by during our opening times with all your questions! Come and browse the tools and get answers for all your questions. You’ll find us here.
You want to support us and your community?
Donate! A great way to support the environmental and community work we do is to make a monthly or one-off donation, both will help us continue our vital work.
Give a little extra donation when you’re picking up your freshly sharpened tools at our Portobello location. Dick and his trusty team are fundraising for ETL by offering their sharpening services to ETL members and non-members!
Dance the night away at our celebratory fundraiser ceilidh for ETL’s 10th Birthday! Make sure to book your spot and invite your friends along. Friday 29th November at Portobello Town Hall.
Choose the Pay-it-forward membership when signing up or renewing your membership to help us offer free memberships to people who need it the most. Read more about memberships & benefits.
Volunteer your time and skills! ETL wouldn’t be what it is with the immense generosity and commitment of our volunteers. Read more about the volunteering roles you could take on!
There are many other ways to support us! As Edinburgh communities continue to evolve explore new ways to tackle the climate emergency, and at the same time cope with the cost-of-living crisis, we are ramping up our efforts to help communities who need us the most. Support our vital community, outreach and environmental work today.
Other programmes, events and partnership we run
The Repairmongery
Got something broken at home? Don’t know where to get it fixed? Try the Repairmongery! The Repairmongery is a new service aiming to fix your broken household items. Pilot stage & research goals What do you have that needs fixing? How much would you pay for a repair? The Repairmongery is currently in the pilot stage: we’re excited…
Become a community partner
Empowering through making As well as lending out equipment, ETL has two workshops where we teach DIY basics and woodwork, and we also run charitable programmes aimed at helping marginalised people develop their skills, and in doing so feel empowered to transform their communities. We achieve this through working with community partner organisations, who work directly with disadvantaged…
Advice for new sharing libraries
So… you’re thinking of setting up a sharing library? That’s a brilliant idea! Probably the best one you’ve had this week at the very least ツIt’s a brilliant and simple idea. Chris had the same one in early 2014. But simple doesn’t mean easy. And that’s why it’s good you’re reading this. We have lots of advice to…
Become a member today!
- Save money – Tools are expensive and not everyone can afford them. Whether you’ve got a shelf to put up, renovations to complete, or a space to transform, you will save money by borrowing tools from a tool library rather than buying tools yourself. In our first 5 years, we saved our members £875,000 compared to what they would have spent on the tools they borrowed.
- Save space – Using the tool library means you don’t need to worry about where to store tools you’ve bought.
- Be kind to the planet – If a drill is used for just 13 minutes of its lifetime and spends the rest of its time collecting dust somewhere, why not share it with your neighbours? By using less and sharing more, the Tool Library helps us all save on the packaging, water, fuel and rare earth minerals that go into producing each tool.
- Better communities! – When you become a member, you become part of a wider community. We run many workshops and programs to help people empower themselves with the knowledge they need to use tools themselves.
