This SLO County library is branching out from books. Now you can check out tools, too

In the back room of the Shandon Library, patrons can find an expansive new collection of items to check out — but not anything with much to read.

That’s because aside from technical manuals and instructions, this new section is full of tools that, much like any other item at the library, can be borrowed using a library card.

Tracey Montelongo, branch manager of the Shandon Library, said the Tool Lending Library is an expansion on the San Luis Obispo County Public Library system’s Library of Things, a program that allows library card holders to check out items from sewing machines to parks passes to GoPro cameras.

“With the community being so far away from the main towns of Paso and Atascadero, where Home Depot and Lowe’s are, this is going to be a great idea for (residents) to check out tools just like they would a library book,” Montelongo told The Tribune. “All you need is a library card to check out all these wonderful tools that we have.”

San Luis Obispo County Library System director Chris Barnickle said in a statement that the new program will give Shandon residents access to expensive and difficult-to-store items they can use for personal and occupational pursuits.

“Shandon relies on its library branch to support the community in many ways — family support, information resources and cultural enrichment,” Barnickle said in the statement. “Many community amenities can only be accessed by traveling more than 18 miles to neighboring towns. SLO Library is hoping to shift community equity by offering a foundational collection of agriculture and basic tools within the community of Shandon that will be loaned to the patrons of the library.”

What can you borrow from the Tool Lending Library?

The Tool Lending Library will start lending out equipment on Saturday, featuring a collection of more than 50 different powered and hand tools.

Manual tools and cordless power tools — which come with safety goggles, ear protection, a battery and a charger — make up the bulk of the Tool Lending Library’s collection.

Air compressors, 20-volt batteries, drills, drivers and bits, lights, tripods, nailers, routers, sanders, saws, miters and wet and dry vacuums are also available, Montelongo said.

Dollies, ladders, levels, saw horses, saws, sledge hammers and workbenches make up some of the more simple tools, while gardeners and landscapers can find brooms, hoes, hand trowels, weeders and cultivators along with rakes, shovels and post-hole diggers.

The library also offers premade tool kits, which contain drill bits, earmuffs, extension cords, hammers, knee pads, pliers, saw blades, screwdrivers, goggles, tape measures and wrenches.

In total, more than 50 different types of tools are available at the Tool Lending Library.

The inventory also isn’t limited to one of any particular tool. There are five cordless brush cutters, for example, as well as multiple shovels, brooms and rakes.

Any tool can be borrowed for a week, Montelongo said, and can be renewed so long as no one else wants it.

Montelongo said the program was made possible by a sustainability grant from the California State Library Systems worth around $24,000, which was used to buy the tools from Miner’s Ace Hardware.

“We purchased all the tools from (Miner’s) in an agreement that they would come out and do bilingual demos on how to use these tools,” Montelongo said.

The first tool demo will be held April 29, with another scheduled for May 6, Montelongo said.

Garden event to be first trial of new tools

The first day of the Tool Lending Library will be marked with an Earth Day celebration hosted by the Shandon Library, Montelongo said.

The Saturday event will be held at 11 a.m. in the library’s backyard, where attendees can use the new tools to help build a community garden for the Shandon community.

This “reading garden” will be presented by Montelongo with help from the UC Master Gardeners of San Luis Obispo County, which will build the garden boxes, and the SLO Food Bank, which will run a kids’ farmers market there.

“SLO Food Bank is going to have a children’s farmers market, where the kids can get little tokens and buy their little vegetables and fruit from the farmers market just like the adults do,” Montelongo said.

Goodie bags for kids and free hot dogs will also be available.

As branch manager, Montelongo said the responsibility of handling the tool library will fall to her.

She said she’s happy to take on the duty in a rural community like Shandon that has less access to supplies and more land and home care needs than many others in San Luis Obispo County.

“I probably won’t be able to fix many of the tools — that’s past my knowledge,” Montelongo said. “I’m the only one that works out here, so its gonna be a big responsibility, but I’m ready to do it for the community.”

Library of Things available at other SLO County branches, too

Shandon is the first community in San Luis Obispo County to receive funding for a Tool Lending Library, but other library branches throughout the county offer items through the Library of Things.

The program is a partnership with SLO MakerSpace, funded by an Innovation Station Project grant from the Southern California Library Cooperative and the California State Library.

“Long-term goals of this project include using technology and tools provided in the Library of Things kits to excite and engage SLO County communities to explore creative problem solving and to develop skill sets one might not otherwise pursue,” the Library of Things website says. “Many of our Library of Things introduce technology that is cutting-edge or further explore STEM and STREAM (science, technology, reading, engineering, art and math) resources. ”

Currently, the Library of Things contains 15 items, which can be checked out online for a maximum of 3 weeks.

Most items can be found at the San Luis Obispo City-County Library, but others such as parks passes are more widely available throughout the county library system.

To check out an item, you must have a library card, which is used to reserve a spot on the wait list.

The following items are included in the Library of Things:

• GoPro Hero 7 camera

• Wacom Cintiq Pro 16” drawing tablet

• JD Humanoid Robot kit

• Arduino Uno kit

• Sewing machine

• Sewing and embroidery machine kit

• Home energy savings kit

• State Library Parks Pass

• San Luis Obispo County Parks Pass

• Explorer backpack

• NuWave Portable Induction Cooktop

• Scribbler 3 Robot kit

• Raspberry Pi 3 Model B Starter Kit

• Snap Circuits Light kit

• Snap Circuits 203 kit

Tool library comes on heels of San Miguel Library reopening

The opening of Shandon’s Tool Lending Library isn’t the only change to San Luis Obispo County’s library system in recent months.

The San Miguel Library reopened its doors on March 8 after an extended absence that started in September 2022 following the retirement of its previous branch manager.

County of San Luis Obispo Public Libraries engagement and marketing coordinator Erica Thatcher said the retirement opened the door for a “refresh” of the library’s interior.

“We gave it a paint job and did some work on the shelving, so it was ready to reopen in March (when) we hired a new manager,” Thompson told The Tribune.

New branch manager Grant Thompson, who speaks English and Spanish, will be able to engage with more of the San Miguel community than was possible before, Thompson said.

Thompson has also been doing more programming for children, including finger painting and other hands-on activities.

“We just wanted to make sure we had the right person there and that the library was ready for the community,” Thompson said.