A DeWalt jigsaw and a KitchenAid stand mixer belong to the same new collection at Central Library, 40 E. Anapamu St., and both have been free to check out since Friday, October 23. Santa Barbara Public Library and the City's Sustainability & Resilience Department built the collection together. It is called the Tool Library and has more than 40 items.
The collection is stocked for the jobs a household takes on a couple of times a year: a door that needs sanding, a bike that has sat with a flat since summer, a holiday bake that is too big for a hand whisk. Loans run for weeks rather than days. Over the winter holidays, the library's own closure pushes due dates further out.
What's on the shelf, sorted by project
The library's announcement lists cordless drills, a hand sander, a gardening tool kit, a fruit picker and a measuring tape. The Santa Barbara Independent's launch-day report names the rest of the collection. Here it is sorted by job:
| Project | What you can borrow |
|---|---|
| Home repair | DeWalt power drill, sander, jigsaw and multi-tool; pliers; screwdrivers; stepladders; dollies |
| Bikes | Bike stand, patch kits, bike pumps |
| Car | Vehicle diagnostics computer that reads warning codes |
| Yard | Fruit picker, gardening tools, kneeling pads, pruning shears |
| Kitchen | KitchenAid stand mixer, ice-cream maker |
The kitchen row is the one to watch this month. The Independent noted that the stand mixer and ice-cream maker are there for "those who are about to ramp up their baking for the holidays." The library already lent sewing machines, and these two appliances join them.
The case for the collection rests on items like these. "Not everyone has the space or budget to own the tools they might need for a home improvement project," Adult Programming Librarian Paige Sundstrom told the Independent. In the City's press release, Clean Community Manager Julie Lawrence put it in terms of things "sitting idle most of the time." In her words, sharing items people "might need just once or twice a year" means fewer tools are made, shipped and eventually thrown away.
The fine print that decides your weekend
Once you know which job a tool is for, a few rules shape how the borrowing goes in practice.
- You need a card, and getting one is easy. Any California resident can get an All-Access card. Adults must be 18 or older and bring ID plus proof of a current mailing address. Teen cards cover ages 13 to 17, and a parent or guardian is required for cardholders 12 and under. The Independent reported that anyone with a California ID can sign up on the spot.
- Goleta, Isla Vista and Carpinteria residents apply in person. The online eCard covers only the library's service area, and those three communities fall outside it.
- Place a hold before you make the trip. Tool Library items can be held through the SBPL catalog. The Tool Library wayfinder is on Central Library's upper level.
- Most loans run three weeks. Under the Library of Things policy, most items go out for three weeks and some for one. Most items can be renewed up to three times if nobody else has a hold. One-week items cannot be renewed. The receipt you get at checkout shows the actual due date for each tool.
- Bring your own consumables. The sander needs sanding pads and the jigsaw needs blades, and you buy both yourself. Pick them up before the weekend you have planned for the job.
- Return items clean, on time, and to a staff member. The library asks for clean returns. Library of Things items go back to staff, and large items in particular should go back to the location where you picked them up.
- There are no late fees, but you pay for loss or damage. SBPL does not charge late fees. It does charge for lost or damaged items, based on current replacement cost and the City's fee schedule. Borrowers are also expected to be able to use an item safely.
Why the holidays give you extra time
The no-late-fee policy and the three-week loan matter most between now and New Year's, because the library is about to close several times. According to the SBPL closures calendar, every location follows the same schedule:
| Date | Library status |
|---|---|
| Thursday–Friday, November 26–27 | Closed for Thanksgiving |
| Thursday, December 24 | Early closure |
| Friday, December 25 through Friday, January 1 | Closed for the winter holidays; outdoor book returns also closed |
For the December 24 early closure and the winter closure, the library says it pushes due dates forward. Here is what that means for borrowers. A three-week loan picked up on the first weekend of December would come due during the winter closure, so it moves forward to a date after the doors reopen. If you want the stand mixer for Thanksgiving, pick it up by Wednesday, November 25, because the library is closed that Thursday and Friday. With the outdoor returns closed over the winter break, plan to hand a tool back to staff in December or after January 1.
The rest of the Library of Things
The Tool Library belongs to SBPL's larger Library of Things, which already lent musical instruments, sewing machines, museum and community passes, kits for kids and seniors, and Book Club in a Bag. A few items in it suit the weeks when guests are staying over:
- Passes: The Library of Things site lists passes for MOXI, the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden and California State Parks day use.
- Instruments: These go out for three weeks.
- Kits: The catalog also has adventure packs, STEAM kits, story kits, play kits and memory kits.
Card limits are generous. All-Access cards allow up to 99 items checked out at once, and adult cards can hold up to 20 items. A drill, a ladder and a botanic garden pass can all fit on one card in the same week.
Getting to Central Library
Central Library is open Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. Parking is in City Lots 6 and 7 next to the library. The first 75 minutes are free, and each additional hour or part of an hour costs $3. That is enough time to pick up a held item and get back to the car, especially on a Saturday morning before a project.
The Eastside and Montecito branches keep shorter hours. The Tool Library itself is at Central, and large items should go back where you picked them up, so plan pickup and return at Anapamu Street.
A borrowed jigsaw makes a weekend project cheaper. Bigger jobs, like a kitchen refresh or a list of repairs before a home goes on the market, usually need a vetted contractor and a firm timeline. If you are weighing projects like that, Kendrick Guehr can connect you with trusted local tradespeople and help you sort out which improvements are worth making. Work With Kendrick.
