OUR STORY

Bridget Kennedy has been interested in the share economy for a while. She’s thought about starting a tool library for many years, the impetus being when she needed some power-operated gardening tools to do a bit of work in her new garden. She borrowed some tools from neighbours but realised that most people in the street had multiple versions of the same tools.  While borrowing tools was a great way to meet her new neighbours, it just didn’t seem to make sense on so many levels for most households in the area to have the same tools. In 2020, she decided to make her idea a reality. She visited Make-Do in Wollongong, and spoke to other tool libraries. She reached out to the local community to see if there was interest and put a proposal together to a supportive council….and here we are.

We are an incorporated Not-for-Profit association that runs a borrowing tool library supporting the communities of the Lower North Shore. We have a large collection (over 300 items) of extremely useful but only occasionally used objects, appliances and tools that are loaned out to the community for a short period of time.

Borrowing tools saves money, resources, space & waste. It helps build resilient & sustainable communities, thus strengthening community connections. Research shows that people who contribute & borrow from a tool library express a sense of belonging in the broader community.

Our Team

bridget kennedy the sydney library of things

Bridget Kennedy

Instigator & Co-Founder

Bridget is the director of Bridget Kennedy Project Space, a founding member of Repair Cafe Sydney North and the instigator of the Sydney Edible Garden Trail, a community not-for-profit event run across 14 council areas. A committed and passionate advocate of permaculture for people and the environment, Bridget devotes her time to initiatives that foster community connection.

Carol Skyring

President & Co-Founder

Carol has spent a lifetime as an educator – as a teacher, trainer and academic. Carol is an advocate of permaculture and from 2014 – 2020 lived as self-sufficiently and sustainably as possible in rural QLD. She’s continued her passion for sustainability with studies in a Diploma of Sustainable Living and by giving her time to projects such as her local community garden, the Sydney Edible Garden Trail and now The Sydney Library of Things.

Jacky Barker

Co-Founder

Jacky is passionate about community. With a background in Law, she’s found her calling as the creator of the hyper-local media enterprise, In The Cove, the go to place for local Lane Cove News. She’s a naturally curious person, interested in others and determined to make the world a better place.

We also thank our past-volunteers. For all the little and big ways you've pitched in.... thanks!

Michaela – Social Media Coordinator,  Sandra – Graphic Designer,  Adam – IT, Andrew – Tag and Tester, Lorelie – PR & Marketing & Frontdesk

Special thanks for the support of the following volunteers who helped guide this project in it's early stages from an idea into reality.

Sandra, Jordan, Heather, Tali, Rebecca and Anke.