Philadelphia is an old city – so much so we have a neighborhood named just that. Our homes are up there in age, with a little more than half built between 1920 and 1945, according to the Preservation Green Lab in 2017.
Older homes require a lot of upkeep, and according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, the city’s housing stock needs $149.3 billion in repairs. Some homeowners may attempt a DIY approach to get the job done, but they may not be equipped with the right tools or skillset.
The West Philly Tool Library (WPTL) is helping people with just that. Housed in an unassuming garage space just off Woodland Avenue, the organization is stocked with hundreds of tools and hosts workshops every day on tool use and repair basics.
Jason Sanders, executive director of WPTL, said West Philly’s aging housing stock was the foundation of the tool library’s formation. He said it’s less about learning new skills and more about “providing tools to the community so they can stay in their own houses.”
“Not so much like the renovations you see on TV, but the [renovations] you need to stay in your house, to be safe, and care for your family,” Sanders said.
The tool library has been operating since 2007 and is the only one of its kind in the city, after the Tacony Tool Library closed in 2022. While historians credit the Berkeley Tool Lending Library as the first in the country, opening as an extension to its public library in 1979, tool libraries can be traced back to the 1940s as a result of a supply shortage during World War II. There are tool libraries all over the world, including in Chicago and Baltimore.
Sanders became involved with the lending library during the early years of the COVID-19 pandemic. What began with just a couple hundred tools has since grown to almost 5,000, 90% of which were donated.
“Not everybody has the luxury to buy a $500 saw, use it for one project, and then leave it sitting in their basement,” Sanders said. “This is a very economical and environmentally friendly way to get what you need done, whether that is something critical like repairs or even a side project or hobby.”
Participants can take classes to learn how to make mosaic tiles or do electric work. (Courtesy of Jason Sanders)
The tool library has 1,200 members who can access shelves overflowing with drills, hammers, and screwdrivers, and check items out for a week at a time.
“It is not necessary for everybody to own their own tools,” Sanders said. “If we think about just the amount of people in one city block … if everybody owned a drill, how wasteful would that be in terms of all the drills just sitting idle in people’s closets and basements?”
The library’s classes, which are taught by professionals, include proper tool use, sewing, and cutting-board making. They’re taught by professionals and priced from $20 to $60.
“It’s not a reliance on: Here’s how to exactly fix your house, fix your wiring problem, fix your plumbing,” Sanders said. Instead, it's about “just knowing what the situation is, so you can be better prepared to fix the situation yourself, or pay someone" to do the work.
Sanders hopes one day WPTL can grow to house and lend larger pieces of equipment, and offer open shop hours so members can use tools there for personal projects.
Recently the tool library launched a community compost drop-off site in collaboration with Bennett Compost, and plans to create a seed library in the future.
“We think providing agency for people is super critical, especially in this neighborhood, where it’s not filled with people who are extremely well off,” Sanders said. “It hits hard for me that what we’re doing here and how we’re helping people is actually making a difference in people’s lives.”
Memberships are not limited to West Philly residents and are on a sliding scale, starting at $25 annually. The library relies heavily on word of mouth as promotion and donations to keep the space running.
Find listings here for classes at the library. Sign up for the library’s newsletter to be alerted when classes go live, as they sell out quickly.
