ABOUT THE VICTORIA TOOL LIBRARY

We are located at 750 Fairfield Road, Victoria, BC, just off Blanshard Street.

The Victoria Tool Library is situated within the traditional territory of the Lekwungen people, as represented today by the Songhees and Esquimalt Nations.

REGULAR HOURS

Saturday: 10am to 12pm

Sunday: 10am to 12pm

Tuesday: 6pm to 8pm

Thursday: 6pm to 8pm

Entry to the Victoria Tool Library via 750 Fairfield Road.

Mailing address: 780 Blanshard Street, Victoria, BC, V9A 4T4.
[ Google Maps ]

If you have any questions, thoughts, or want to get involved, please contact info@victoriatoollibrary.org or join us in person at the Tool Library during our open hours.

Be sure to like us on Facebookfollow us on Twitter and see what’s up on Instagram for events and updates!

Russell Molnar


Michael Campbell


Al Herle


Sarah Webb


Caroline Weatherhead


Tony Nielsen


Bruce Haines


Want to contribute? Contact info@victoriatoollibrary.org.

Throughout February 2016 we held a crowdfunding campaign to raise initial funds for the Victoria Tool Library. A sincere and hearty thank you goes out to each and every person who donated and helped to spread the word about the campaign.

We made $8,575 from 136 backers! Your generosity has helped the Tool Library become a reality, going towards things like operating costs, insurance and the development and maintenance of the tool collection.

A special thank you goes out to some local community-minded organizations who helped us along the way: Hoyne Brewing Company, Heart & Hands Health Collective, North Park Bicycle Shop, Butchart Gardens. And to the local media outlets who helped us get the word all around town!

Here are a couple of reactions from our wonderful donors!

Our family got most fun thank you note ever from @VicToolLibrary today. Find out more https://t.co/WUL0LbMdpc pic.twitter.com/5hohMCAiVq

— Tania Wegwitz (@TaniaWegwitz) April 21, 2016

Love my sturdy new tote bag from @VicToolLibrary, I’m carrying it everywhere! #yyj #Victoria pic.twitter.com/KyU7xEIRjN

— Stephanie Ferguson (@Snailphanie) May 8, 2016

The Indigogo page will remain archived here.

You’re amazing and we can’t wait to share tools with you all!

Thank you, community!

The Victoria Tool Library conducted a survey from December 2014 to November 2015, focusing on what potential users wanted out of a tool library, how much they would pay for membership, how they would like to be involved, and demographic information. Over 400 responses were received and the results are summarized below.

Uses for the tool library

Tool Library Uses Word Cloud

We asked people what kinds of tools they would most like to borrow from the tool library, and overwhelmingly the most common category was general home improvement, followed by gardening, and woodworking. Other commonly requested uses included bike repair, furniture repair, art, car repair, plumbing, metalworking, and electronics repair. People also requested tools for sewing, cooking and crafting, especially knitting materials. The word cloud below represents the number of times each use was suggested by people taking the survey. The larger the word, the more times that use was suggested.

Specific tools requested

Tool suggestions word cloud

We had over 450 specific suggestions for 185 different tools or types of tools to be included in the Victoria Tool Library’s Inventory. The most popular requests were for table saws, drills, and ladders. Other suggestions included planer, Dremel, nail gun, painting equipment, chipper/shredder, gardening pruners, sewing machine, apple press and bike repair stand. The word cloud below represents the number of times each tool was suggested by people taking the survey. The larger the word, the more times that use was suggested.

Functions of the Tool Library

Displayed in the below table are responses for the question “How important do you think it is for the Victoria Tool Library to be a place to: ________________.”

Borrow ToolsLearn New SkillsFix or Make ThingsOrganize ProjectsBuild CommunityOffer Youth Programs
Extremely Important83.8%37.8%36.5%21.5%41.0%28.4%
Fairly Important14.1%49.2%43.1%42.7%39.7%34.5%
No Opinion0.25%5.3%6.9%17.1%10.3%17.3%
Somewhat Important0.25%6.3%11.2%16.1%7.7%15.7%
Not Important1.5%1.3%2.3%2.6%2.3%4.1%

These results tell us that the most important function people feel the Victoria Tool Library should play is facilitating the borrowing of tools. Learning new skills, fixing or making things and building community are also key functions, followed by organizing projects and offering youth programs.

Demographics

Of those who answered the gender question, 202 people identified as female, 149 identified as male.

Of those who answered the neighbourhood question, 208 responses were from Victoria, 22 from Esquimalt, 18 from Oak Bay, 88 from Saanich, 4 from Central Saanich, 3 from North Saanich, 22 from elsewhere in the Greater Victoria Area, 2 from elsewhere on Vancouver Island, and 5 from other locations not on Vancouver Island. Fairfield and Fernwood were the communities with the greatest number of responses, 48 and 47 respectively.