Up your thrifting game with SA’s newest ‘Library of Things’

Items we often buy and use once end up languishing in the shed – or even in landfill – but the City of Onkaparinga is coming to the rescue, with its ‘Library of Things'.

Now open at Woodcroft Library, the library encourages sustainable living and promotes a circular economy by fostering reuse and reducing waste. Adults can borrow up to four items – ranging from party equipment to camping gear – for free for up to two weeks using a Libraries SA card.

It includes equipment for a one-off home project or just things you want to check before you buy to see if they're useful – such as a chocolate fountain or pond-dipping nets.

The wide range of items available were selected by the council after asking the community for feedback on what items they would like to borrow. Angela Berney, team leader at Woodcroft Library, said the Library of Things includes baking trays, outdoor equipment and even a thermal camera.

“We have a lot of baking trays, especially if you have a child turning one or two, we have trays to make numbers – often they're a one-use item,” she said.

“We have a tent, a hiking backpack for kids on events – they might need it only for one excursion.

The library has a chocolate fountain, a light level meter to check the lighting standards for offices, and an $800 thermal camera.

“If you had it at home, you could check if your power plugs are overheating to see if your insulation has been installed correctly.

“So we have some high-cost items, and low-end items for people to try before they buy. The whole idea is to cut down on waste and things going into landfill.”

The library includes a number of outdoor items such as binoculars, a telescope, metal detector, magnifying glasses and picnic set.

Woodcroft already has a toy and sport library, and Ms Berney said they tend to find breakage was minimal.

“We rarely charge for accidental breakage, but if a dog has chewed it, or something like that, most people are willing to pay,” she said.

The council encourages suggestions for new items and, in a year, will consult the community on what other items would be useful in the collection.

Since launching the Library of Things, Ms Berney has been thrilled with the uptake and the impact the borrowing system has had on the community.

“We have around half of the collection out at the moment, and we’ve also had some interesting stories from our customers about how it has helped them in their lives.

“One young person borrowed our picnic set to take his girlfriend on a picnic for Valentine’s Day, whilst another individual told us that they were so excited to borrow the pasta maker to be able to make their son pasta, as he has severe allergies so couldn’t buy pasta from the shops!”

Ms Burney attributes the initial success of the Library of Things to the Mount Gambier Library, who launched their own Library of Things last year.

“We got our inspiration for the management of the equipment from Mount Gambier Library, who were very helpful with sharing their information”.

Visit the City of Onkaparinga’s Library of Things for more information.