Erstellt am: 30. 1. 2014 - 12:08 Uhr

Today's Webtip: Tool Libraries

Another example of the sharing economy.

I have noticed a rather disturbing trend lately. The term "sharing economy" has increasingly been used to describe business models that are actually attempts at lowering the barrier of entry toward a tent-seeking economy.

The black car service Uber and the holiday rental service AirBnB are the two businesses most frequently given as an example of the wonders of the sharing economy. Now, they might be decent examples of using technology to more adequately distribute dormant resources, and they have most certainly helped put some money in peoples pockets that wouldn't have normally been there. But I find it a bit of a stretch to call renting sharing.

Couchsurfing is sharing. Hackerspaces are sharing. Things like the Fahhrad Werkstatt in Wuk are sharing.

Libraries are sharing.

And that brings us to something I would really like to see in Austria. Tool lending libraries.

I'm a bit of a cheapskate. I'm also a bit of an anti-consumerist. Tools tend to be a problem that is difficult to solve in that situation. It hurts to spend money on a tool I might only need to use once in a decade. Buying cheaply made tools is about the same as paying to throw something away.

And then there is the issue of storage. Were I a hardcore hobbyist it might be easier to justify dedicating space for tools, but I'm not, and I'm rather pleased with the fact that the tools I need on a regular basis fit in a small bag. But the stuff I need right now would take up a lot more space. Space I just don't have. And it seems like such a waste to have things just sitting around not being used...

So I want a tool lending library. I haven't found one in Austria, although I know most stores offer rental prices. But they don't offer some of the other things a good library would. So, in true D.I.Y. manner, I looked for a guide.

And found a few.

Anyone up for it?