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Kathleen Gollner and Tenny Webster opened Durango Tool Library last year, which rents out tools for a small monthly fee for home projects./ Photo by Jennaye Derge
Tooling around From drills to drain snakes, Durango Tool Library’s got your next DIY covered by Jennaye Derge
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s a self-proclaimed bookworm, I’ve always viewed libraries as four-walled havens of literature. But when it comes to the new Durango Tool Library, it’s not so bookended, if you will. Kathleen Gollner and Tenny Webster, owners of the Durango Tool Library, assure me that libraries don’t always have to be about books. They can house things like data and objects. And Durango’s newest library, located in Bodo Park, concerns itself with the latter. As the name implies, the library is made up of tools that can be checked out, used for home projects, then returned all for a small monthly fee. In fact, this model of renting infrequently used items is such a phenomenon that it even has a name: library of things. It might sound like some Harry Potter tomfoolery or a term so literal you want to roll your eyes, but Kathleen and Tenny attest to its authenticity. Apparently, these libraries of things are pretty popular in other places, including Vancouver, B.C. where Kathleen and Tenny met in grad school. Both have degrees in library science from the University of British Columbia. However, they came out of grad school
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JusttheFacts What: Durango Tool Library launch & open house When: Fri., May 13, 4-8 p.m. Where: 278 Sawyer Drive, Unit 4A – having frequented their own local tool library – wanting to explore the world of renting out objects. “We often needed tools to build shelves, repair our bikes and any number of things,” Kathleen said. “We had neither the money, the space nor the desire to accumulate and deal with tools.” This is probably one of the more relatable statements for anyone living in a tiny studio or apartment, or dealing with a cluttered shed and garage. Borrowing something in a world where we already own so much is significantly less committal, less maddening and way cheaper than a $200 tool you’ll only use once in a while. Since its opening last year, the Durango Tool Library knew it wanted to have a positive impact on the community and has operated as a public-benefit corporation, meaning they operate in the best interest of the public instead of stakeholders. The goal of a public-
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benefit corporation is usually a little more philanthropic, and it runs much like a nonprofit. It requires a yearly audit and, much like a nonprofit, has a triple bottom line: to benefit the community, the environment and people involved in the business. Kathleen and Tenny still want to make money so they can feed their dog, so they found the public-benefit corporation to be the best route. “(A public-benefit corporation) is a very transparent way of having a corporation that is held accountable to the public, and showing that we do what we say we’ve set out to do, and we’re not here just for ourselves just to make profit,” Tenny said. Also similar to many other nonprofits are Durango Tool Library’s membership fees. It currently offers monthly and yearly membership options, $25 or $220 respectively with an initial $10 startup fee. Folks can rent up to eight tools at a time for one week, giving them enough time to work on their projects without having to rush. Or, as Tenny says, giving them enough time to procrastinate as long as possible. Procrastination is generally what this town does best, so it’s clear Kathleen and Tenny are already understanding of that. And since opening the Durango Tool Library, that’s been their main goal.
