Découverte de la Toronto Tool Library

On a Wednesday night of late April, we arrived at the Toronto Tool Library (TTL) on Danforth avenue. There were about 10 people there : volunteers, members and people who were seeking information about the service. Later in the evening, we also learned that the basement was also full of people attending the carpentry workshop.

We were welcomed by Lawrence Alvarez, who is the president of The Institute for Ressource Based Economy (IRBE), which is at the origin of the library. We had a tour of the space with him, which included the library, the carpentry shop and the repair room.

Then, we all went to the restaurant across the street, where Ryan Dyment, the director, was talking with visitors from Minneapolis who wanted to learn more about starting up a Makerspace. This encounter would later result us visiting their place, which you can learn about in this video.

The Toronto Tool Library gives its 2000 members access to around 25 000 tools. It has 4 different locations in Toronto and others may be added in the future. When we visited, one location had just opened one week before and it was already full of tools and more than 25 volunteers had been trained. Tool libraries are part of a new social and collaborative economy. The TTL was launched 4 years ago, as an initiative of the people at the origin of IRBE. This group of environmentalist and activist friends saw in this project a way to counter the individual accumulation of objects.

Tool libraries are part of a new social and collaborative economy. The TTL was launched 4 years ago, as an initiative of the people at the origin of IRBE. This group of environmentalist and activist friends saw in this project a way to counter the individual accumulation of objects.

As time went by, the library also started offering carpentry workshops, a laser cuter and a 3D printers. There is also a youth program offering different discovery activities. The TTL is the organizer of the Symposium of Tool Libraries taking place on June 9th, 2017.

Visit the facebook page of the Toronto Tool Library, like and share!
Below is our first video with the full interview with Ryan Dyment.

On a Wednesday night of late April, we arrived at the Toronto Tool Library (TTL) on Danforth avenue. There were about 10 people there : volunteers, members and people who were seeking information about the service. Later in the evening, we also learned that the basement was also full of people attending the carpentry workshop.
We were welcomed by Lawrence Alvarez, who is the president of The Institute for Ressource Based Economy (IRBE), which is at the origin of the library. We had a tour of the space with him, which included the library, the carpentry shop and the repair room.
Then, we all went to the restaurant across the street, where Ryan Dyment, the director, was talking with visitors from Minneapolis who wanted to learn more about starting up a Makerspace. This encounter would later result us visiting their place, which you can learn about in this video.
The Toronto Tool Library gives its 2000 members access to around 25 000 tools. It has 4 different locations in Toronto and others may be added in the future. When we visited, one location had just opened one week before and it was already full of tools and more than 25 volunteers had been trained. Tool libraries are part of a new social and collaborative economy. The TTL was launched 4 years ago, as an initiative of the people at the origin of IRBE. This group of environmentalist and activist friends saw in this project a way to counter the individual accumulation of objects.
As time went by, the library also started offering carpentry workshops, a laser cuter and a 3D printers. There is also a youth program offering different discovery activities. The TTL is the organizer of the Symposium of Tool Libraries taking place on June 9th, 2017. If you wish to know more or learn about how to start up your own library, visit the 2nd Annual Leading Library Symposium webpage.
Visit the facebook page of the Toronto Tool Library, like and share!
Below is our first video with the full interview with Ryan Dyment.

Also published on Medium.