BayShare Library of Things opens in Lancaster

A new Library of Things has opened its doors to the public at Lancaster’s White Cross Business Park this week. The community-run library encourages borrowing instead of buying items to save resources. 

The BayShare Library of Things is a place where anyone can become a member and borrow tools and other items that are used only occasionally at a very affordable rate. The library is run by the local community initiative Lancaster and Morecambe Makers, who also run Lancaster Community Makerspace next door. 

Bil Bas, a director of Lancaster and Morecambe Makers and founder of BayShare, explains: “There are lots of things from party or travel equipment to tools that people don’t use very often. So borrowing instead of buying makes a lot of sense. It saves money, storage space and reduces waste. A library of things makes this possible, at very low cost.” 

Items that are already available to borrow from the BayShare Library of Things include various DIY tools, programmable robots, various trolleys, a unicycle, a travel cot, a dehumidifier, a sewing machine, a bat detector, a neon happy birthday sign, and a few dozen more things. Future plans include adding many more items to the list over the coming weeks, and potentially launching locker-based sublibraries in other locations. 

At the opening celebration of the BayShare Library of Things, Lancaster Mayor Councillor Colin Hartley JP said: “Sharing is not a new concept – it is what humans have done for millennia in order to survive as families, tribes and clans. An individual sharing an item can seem trivial, but it actually creates a powerful gateway towards a different mindset, a different culture and potentially a different future.”

“By embracing the spirit of sharing, we make better use of resources and lessen the need for new things, collectively reducing consumption and waste and lightening our environmental footprint, whilst supporting everyone to access what they need.” – Lancaster Mayor Councillor Colin Hartley JP

Cat Smith MP, Member of Parliament for Lancaster and Wyre, said: “We all have the occasional need for a travel cot, pet carrier, or power tool, but the full retail costs for these can really break the bank. Thanks to the BayShare team, being able to borrow items from the Library of Things for a few days instead will help people save money and reduce waste.”

The library sees itself as part of a global sharing and repairing community and is one of a growing worldwide re-commoning movement. Repairing and reducing resource consumption is also at the heart of a monthly repair cafe that the Makerspace and BayShare host in collaboration with Lancaster and Morecambe Repair Cafe and Sewing Cafe Lancaster. 

Councillor Paul Stubbins said he was keen to sign up and borrow a sander for a flooring project this summer, and added: “This will be a very valuable facility in the community and will make a meaningful difference to people’s lives. Feeling a part of a supportive, sharing community gives energy, and this library provides people with the tools needed to accomplish tasks.”

As a community initiative, BayShare has received funding from Closing Loops through the Pots of Possibility Fund, from Lancaster City Council, and from Walney Extension Community Fund. Nick Smith from Lancaster District CVS said, “We often give funding to local organisations for equipment. The library of things has the potential to reduce the need for that, helping us make funding go further and support more community initiatives.”

Before the opening of the BayShare Library of Things, research was undertaken by Ref/use Lab for Lancaster City Council, asking local residents what they would like to borrow from such a library. The researchers also collected information about other borrowing initiatives that already exist in the district. 

Researcher Kiki Callihan explains, “We found that over 500 items were already available from community groups and organisations – but there wasn’t a system for making the items easily searchable. So BayShare was conceived as a better way to find and borrow what was available from the various groups.” 

Alongside the BayShare Library of Things catalogue, the website includes a lending directory that lists other lending initiatives in the area. These include a wide range of organisations and items, from Lancaster City Council’s gazebos, tables and chairs to Dolphinholme Party Kits and Morecambe Bay Slings who lend baby carriers. 

Items can be borrowed from and returned to the BayShare library at Harpers Mill, White Cross Business Park. New users can sign up as library members at bayshare.uk or find out more in person during the library opening hours, Mondays 6:30-8:30pm, Wednesdays 6:30-8:30pm and Saturdays 11am-1pm.