The Tool Library is a non-profit program operated by Rebuilding Together Central Ohio. A free service for Franklin County residents, the Tool Library offers tool and equipment loans and operates much like a traditional library. The library has existed for 30 years and is one of only 60 tool libraries in the United States. The Tool Library has 2500 members and around 180 nonprofit partners.
Borrowers apply for membership, work with library staff to check out materials and are accountable for returning them on time and in good condition. The library has a large collection with a broad variety of tools. Lawn tools and mowers, hand tools, power washers, wheel barrows, ladders and saws are some of the popular items loaned by the Tool Library.
In addition to providing the materials, the Tool Library also offers “How to” information, workshops and advice on how to use the tools for different projects. Tools from the library help support 45 community gardens, and the staff maintains a demonstration garden.
Julie Smith, executive director, shared an example of how the tool library helped the community. A local elementary school teacher needed to have her stage refinished because her students were getting splinters when the danced on it. The project was outside of her school’s budget, so she borrowed materials and with the help of her father was able to complete the project on her own.
Founded in 1817, the State Library of Ohio continues to be an amazing resource that is open to the public. The library is a federal depository and has a remarkable collection of rare materials. Some of those materials include a 1552 Complete Works of Martin Luther, medieval works on vellum, many original WWII posters and even a handwritten letter from President George Washington.
The library is also an excellent genealogical resource. For example, their Ohio Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Orphans’ Home annual reports could be considered a registry of orphans and house important information not necessarily found through the U.S. Census. The reports, along with other materials in the library, help genealogists fill in the details of their research “like the colors of a painting.”
Shannon Kupfer is the library’s digital and tangible media cataloger. Through her own research, she was able to enhance the collection’s Ohio Holocaust survivor materials by reaching out and gathering additional details from a survivor living in Cleveland. By doing so, Shannon helped preserve important information that would have been otherwise lost.
Bricker & Eckler is one of Ohio’s leading law firms located within the Old Post Office on Third Street in downtown Columbus. The firm has additional offices in Cleveland, West Chester and Marietta and employs 140 attorneys. The law library employs three librarians who provide services to all branches and members of the firm. Services include news monitoring, business intelligence to assist with business expansion, research in legal and non-legal matters, tech services for circulation of library materials, due diligence on potential clients, and literacy training for summer and winter associates. Librarians are embedded within practice areas of the firm to provide specialized research.
Bricker & Eckler’s library is unique in size – in many firms, libraries are shrinking as more digital materials are utilized, but the library at Bricker is a central feature of the building. The library is responsible for providing resources for each area of the practice and so the librarians are deft at balancing resources and budgets to provide the best tools possible, as new attorneys and practice areas are added or change.
When we visited, the library was wrapping up Library Week, an annual program which promotes awareness and appreciation of the library to the entire staff. They offer training, host fun events, and provide food to bring attorneys in to check out the awesome tools the library provides. Susan Lowe, Director of Library Services shared that she loves her job. She said that librarians are really “adrenaline junkies” and her job is fast paced and exciting. She gets to be involved in every area of the practice and connects people with knowledge.
