What is the Montague Tool and Gear Library?
The Drawdown Montague Tool and Gear Library is a neighborhood listserv (group email list) formed to make it easy to share tools, gear, surplus supplies, and equipment. It is open to anyone residing in the five villages of Montague, MA.
To join, please read the introductory materials and then fill out the brief application below. You can join whether or not you have items to lend. Once approved, you can use the listserv to borrow and/or offer items. The tool and gear library doesn’t have a designated space for tools or an on-site coordinator. Members simply email the listserv to ask for or offer gear.
We also encourage everyone to utilize these other great local sharing economy resources: the Montague Public Libraries’ Library of Things, and the Finder’s Collective.
Sharing resources means you don’t always need to buy and own the things you need to use. Users save money and storage space, while reducing energy and material extraction from the earth, and strengthening community connections.
Member Agreement and Policies
Personal accountability is required of all members because trust between the lender and borrower is critical in making this model safe, secure, and sustainable. With this in mind, all prospective members are asked to read the text below, and review our FAQ page with thoughtful consideration before deciding to join.
As a member of the Drawdown Montague Tool and Gear Library, I commit to honesty and integrity in lending and borrowing. This means that lenders provide tools that are in good working order and that borrowers return the item in the same condition in which they received it. If a borrower breaks or damages a tool, we expect that the borrower and the lender will resolve the situation between them in a way that is satisfactory to both parties.
Members act from an abundance mindset which acknowledges that we have enough, and can meet our needs together. We share what we have and borrow what we need to break the scarcity mindset and reduce socially and ecologically destructive consumption.
In addition, we aspire to act in accordance with the following shared values:
- Collective Responsibility
- Personal Accountability
- Community Resilience
Agreements
- Tools are loaned for a time frame to be agreed upon by the borrower and lender ahead of time.
- All members agree to timely response to loan requests and communications from other members. A response within 48 hours is best practice when possible.
- The borrower agrees to return the item in the same condition it was borrowed in. If a tool is broken while in use by borrower, an agreement for resolution should be reached between borrower and lender.
- Borrowed items are not to be used by anyone but the borrower, and should never be loaned to third parties.
Stipulations
- Members can make their initial offer/request via the listserv, but thereafter, logistics of the borrow should be worked out between the two members privately.
- The administrators maintain a record of the phone number and street address of each member, but this information isn’t shared.
- Donated funds will be used toward tool repair or replacement in rare cases only (when borrower/lender can’t resolve grievance or borrower is unable to replace a broken tool) and at the discretion of Drawdown Montague members.
- Tool owners reserve the right to put additional stipulations on loan (e.g. must demonstrate competence before borrowing, must sharpen before returning, must agree to share maintenance costs if borrowing is frequent, etc.).