“Much like a traditional library, the tool library is a free community lending service, but instead of books, we deal in tools.”
John Shea and Piper Watson are two among hundreds of artists who call the Station North Arts & Entertainment District their home. In just under two years, as resident of City Arts Apartments on Oliver Street, they have watched their neighborhood evolve into the thriving and growing arts community it is today.
The 2010 addition of City Arts to the already bustling street, in addition to 16 row houses, transplanted a whole new batch of creative types to the expanding hub of creative activity taking place just a few blocks east of the Charles Street corridor. Within under 1000 yards of surrounding artist live/work spaces, the City Arts building joined the community that serves as the unspoken pulse of Station North.
Shea is a sculpture, teacher, and mixed media artist, and Watson is a photographer. Both were among the first residents to move into the building. They actually met when he helped her carry her couch into her brand new apartment. They now share a space,which is just one of many in the building that serve as a breeding ground for new ideas. This past spring, while overlooking Greenmount Cemetery, the dynamic duo decided what Station North and Baltimore-at-large was in need of was a tool library.
John Shea and Piper Watson rode 10,000 miles across the US from their home in Station North, Baltimore to the furthest reaches of the lower 48 and back again (amongst other things) to see various tool lending libraries and how they support their communities. Photo by The Motolady.
You often hear about the unstoppable excitement of power couples. When all passions are shared between two highly productive individuals, the magic they create can send ripples through the world. Combined with community-mindedness and a drive towards positive change, you suddenly find yourself confronted by masterminds, working as one towards transformation.
When Shea and Watson left their apartment at City Arts on July 5, they knew they would not be returning home for months. Their cross-country journey, though filled with sites, sounds and local flavors, was not one of mere pleasure and adventure, but rather an expedition in search of knowledge. As they departed Baltimore on their motorcycles, they set off to visit six tool libraries across the country to see how they work, and develop a plan to make one in Baltimore.
The idea for a tool library is really quite simple: acquire a bunch of tools and loan them out for one week at a time to those who need them. Surprisingly there are less than 50 such full scale locations across the country who do just that. Not so surprisingly, this form of progressive thinking is found primarily on the West Coast, but Shea and Watson are bringing it to Baltimore.
In Boulder, Colorado the Tool Library looks much like a hardware store and even rents out tools to contractors to help subsidize rental costs and membership fees for the general public. Photo by Piper Watson.
Their journey across the country to see tool libraries in action brought them six libraries in six different states: Cedar Falls, IA; West Seattle, WA; Northeast Portland, OR; Berkeley, CA; Oakland, CA; and Boulder, CO. Each tool library they visited had their own unique tool selection, funding sources, operating plan, and communities they serve. For Shea and Watson, exploring the difference and similarities in how each functions provided critical insight into how they would start their own. What each had in common was providing the necessary tools to create, improve, beautify, and earn money.
Shea and Watson plan to open their tool library within the coming months, and are currently looking at several potential sites within Station North, including at least one on Oliver Street. The area is of prime interest for the diversity of residents found within its borders. Despite all odds, Station North continues to be called home by a fair balance of working artists, MICA students, as well as legacy residents, who have lived in Station North for many years prior to it receiving its name, or receiving a designation as an Arts & Entertainment District.
The goal of the tool library is to impact five different populations. This includes artist living and working in the area, legacy residents, home owners rehabbing or maintaining their homes, as well as businesses or organizations that require tools in order to make money. Additionally, the tool library will provide the necessary equipment for individuals to start a business in the area, utilizing the library’s tools, thereby creating opportunities for employment and small business ownership.
In Boulder, Colorado the Tool Library looks much like a hardware store and even rents out tools to contractors to help subsidize rental costs and membership fees for the general public. Photo by Piper Watson.
“We want people to have access to everything they need to do a weeks worth of work,” says Shea, “and our library will be stocked to accommodate all sort of needs, from small hand tools to contractor grade equipment.”
The potential economic impact of the project is huge, creating the opportunity for new jobs and businesses who utilize the library to supply them with the necessary items to generate paid work. “What Baltimore needs is a strong, diverse, middle class,” says Watson, “and the tool library wants to support that!”
The tool library not only serves businesses, artists and makers of all sorts, but also can quite literally improve the neighborhood. Watson is quick to point out that with “a new interest in real estate in the area,” the tool library can “provide new homeowners with what they need to improve their house, beautify Station North, and make Baltimore a better place.”
In Boulder, Colorado the Tool Library looks much like a hardware store and even rents out tools to contractors to help subsidize rental costs and membership fees for the general public. Photo by Piper Watson.
As plans continue to unfold, nearly everyone who hears about the project responds with overwhelming positivity. For each person who catches wind of the idea, it is clear how such a place could create positive impact for them, their work, their neighborhood, and their community. Though the library is set to open in Station North, Shea and Watson’s hope is to serve all of Central Baltimore, and once this one is off the ground and running, to create other tool libraries within the city. In the mid-term plan is also the actualization of a group workspace, where visitors could use shop tools, take workshops, share knowledge and create together.
Even while the project is still just an idea, teetering on the verge of becoming a reality, donations of tools have already started coming in. This serves as a clear sign that the vision is correct and the passion will be rewarded. For Shea and Watson, it has already begun to require the time and energy of a full time job, yet this does not seem to dissuade them. Instead, they are motivated by the work, the excitement, and the positive outcomes that lie just around the corner.
The West Seattle Tool Library offers online resources and file sharing for how to start a library in your own community. They also occupy the smallest space of any of the libraries visited. Photo by Piper Watson.
What Weekly prides itself on “Documenting the Baltimore Renaissance,” and though the artists and events we cover are clear signs that something amazing is taking place within our city, it is folks like Shea and Watson who will usher in the large scale positive change needed to take us to the next level, creating opportunities for commerce, beautification, and creativity unbound by the access to the tools needed to make things happen.
Near the Oakland Tool Library, Berkeley Tool Lending Library was the very first tool library in the US, starting in 1979 with $30,000 from a federal Community Development Block Grant. Photo by Piper Watson.
This Friday night (Oct 5, 2012) Shea and Watson are hosting an informational session and potluck dinner at Area 405 to talk about what they experienced at other tool libraries across the country, how it all works, and how it can benefit Baltimore. They also hope to solicit feedback, hear new ideas, and start a dialog with interested parties. The potluck begins at 6:00PM, the presentation at 7:00PM, and The Got Jamn String Band performs at 8:30PM
Even a potluck represents a community coming together to support one another, share and grow. From its very beginning, John Shea and Piper Watson are building their tool library in celebration of working together for positive change. As they makes steps towards unleashing the creative spirit, they also strive to improve the lives of Baltimore’s citizens, and continue to make Baltimore a place its residents proudly call home.
For more information on how to be a part of the Station North Tool Library, email: SNToolLibrary@gmail.com
Click here to visit the Facebook Event page for the Tool Library Potluck!
Pictured here photographing Mt. Rushmore, John Shea and Piper Watson rode 10,000 miles across the US from their home in Station North, Baltimore to the furthest reaches of the lower 48 and back again (amongst other things) to see various tool lending libraries and how they support their communities. Photo by Piper Watson.
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