Libraries as Hubs of the Sharing Economy
In briefAI summary — tap to read
Hazel Onsrud from Curtis Memorial Library in Maine explains how public libraries are becoming centers of the sharing economy, lending tools, equipment, and resources to meet community needs while promoting sustainability. Libraries offer free, open spaces where people can engage with their communities and access items they need without ownership, from camping gear to craft supplies, while supporting sustainability goals and addressing local challenges like food insecurity.
Key takeaways
- Libraries are evolving beyond book lending to offer 'libraries of things'—collections of tools, equipment, and resources that people can borrow for free, reducing consumption and costs for communities.
- Modern libraries serve dual purposes: helping communities engage with each other on shared problems while also providing spaces for people to escape stress and relax.
- Libraries identify and address 'missing literacies' in communities (such as growing, cooking, digital, or civic literacy) through partnerships with local nonprofits, businesses, and government agencies to meet specific local needs.
- Sustainable collections can be built affordably and simply—even with a spreadsheet—by prioritizing items in the $100-$400 range that people use occasionally and find difficult to store.
- Anyone can start or join library of things initiatives; experienced practitioners worldwide are ready to help new projects succeed through networks like the LOT Mutual Aid Group.
About Hazel OnsrudHazel Onsrud works at Curtis Memorial Library in Maine, where she leads sustainability programs and helped develop the library's collection of over 1,500 lendable items. She was named a changemaker by the New York Times in their '50 States, 50 Solutions' series.
AI-generated from the meeting recording — AI can make mistakes, so check the recording for anything important.
New here? How our meetings work
Is this your first time visiting us? If so, welcome to our weekly online meeting! To complete our meeting, please continue reading from here to the bottom of this page. Each Monday, our week’s meeting is posted early in the morning, U.S. Pacific Time. These meetings are designed so that you can read and watch what we post anytime during the week. The entire meeting takes about 60 minutes to complete, with the video conference recording of the program being the bulk of the time. Note that you can easily read this meeting with your favorite device, so feel free to take our meeting on the go with you. Please also complete the attendance form at the bottom and leave a comment. Enjoy!
To properly attend this meeting, please:
-
Read and watch the content below in its entirety.
-
Complete the attendance survey.
Everyone is encouraged to leave a comment in the Disqus section at the bottom of the page.
Greetings members, Rotarians, friends and guests
Want to Learn More About Us? - Who We Are, What We Do, Why We Do It
Want to become a Rotarian? - Join us in helping to make the world a better place!
Thanks for joining our weekly meeting!
Mike Kane - AG 7 & Past Club President
Weekly Funny with Shags
We believe laughter is an important part of life, and we should all make time to laugh a little. This segment of our meeting is meant to tickle you just enough. These funnies are curated by member Steven "Shags" Shagrin!
Have you ever tried to eat a clock?
It is very time-consuming.
Inspiration
Sometimes one's service is realizing one's value, and helping others get to realizing theirs. Tiffany Yu started Diversability out of a desire to activate people with "disabilities" to be the confident, market force that they can become.
Learn something new
I Wonder What It Smells Like...
Taiwan firm creates clothing from banana waste
📬 Are you receiving the Members-Only Weekly Bulletin?
Our Club News and Member links are now on the Members Only ClubRunner Site and are emailed weekly as a Club Bulletin. Please make sure your email address is current on ClubRunner.
Members, be sure to read our Weekly Club Bulletin, which is sent separately to your email address from ClubRunner each Monday. In it, you will find updates and information about what our members are up to, club activities, projects, Happy Dollars, news from District 5170, and various ways you can support The Rotary Foundation. We also send your Dues notices using ClubRunner email.
Our Weekly Bulletin, sent every Monday, provides club information. To stay informed, please ensure your email is current on ClubRunner and add mailservice@clubrunner.ca to your address book so it does not go into Spam.
Program: Libraries as Hubs of the Sharing Economy
Speaker: Hazel Onsrud
We bring you a new program every week on innovation, entrepreneurship, and education and how they contribute to service to others.
Libraries are more than places to borrow books; they are dynamic centers of community connection and resource sharing. From lending tools to hosting community meetings and supporting local solutions to global challenges, libraries play a vital role in the sharing economy. Present in diverse communities around the world, they enable patrons to engage and escape, key elements of personal and collective well-being. Join us to explore how libraries are advancing sharing and sustainability actions, discover inspiring examples of non-traditional lending programs, and learn how you can participate in this transformational community effort.
Our speaker, Hazel Onsrud, is a public librarian at Curtis Memorial Library in Brunswick, Maine, in the United States. Onsrud works on community programming and collection development, including an extensive library of things focused on the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals. She serves on the international Library of Things Mutual Aid Group, the Advisory Board of the Sustainable Libraries Initiative and the Steering Team of MECollab. She enjoys collaborating with good humans around the globe and was named a 2024 Library Journal Mover and Shaker and a 2025 New York Times Changemaker. Prior to her work as public librarian, Hazel co-founded the Maine Tool Library and spent a bunch of time learning from graceful teachers. In her free time, she likes to create things, eat molés and design gardens.
Members and guests, please welcome Hazel Onsrud!
To learn more, go to:
LOT Mutual Aid Group: https://sites.google.com/view/lotmutualaid/home
Curtis Memorial Library Library of Things: https://curtislibrary.com/library-of-things/
Sustainable Libraries Initiative: https://www.sustainablelibrariesinitiative.org/
Emily Drabinski - The Stories of Libraries
https://youtu.be/jTzhVjDujuY
Sif Jensen - Unjudge Someone, the Human Library
https://youtu.be/STpTmIo6EGQ
Anthony Chow - Reading Nation Waterfall: Ensuring Equal Access to Books for All Children
https://youtu.be/NhOhuUszuq0
Purnima Rao and Shivam Singh - Building The People's Library: India's Free Library Movement
https://youtu.be/W-gSoOwsBOY
To learn more about the Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley, go to:
http://rotary.cool
Our Three Podcast Series
Our main program speakers are available as podcasts in addition to YouTube videos! Each week, they are available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, as well as many other platforms.
Our weekly podcast is now called:
Inspiring People — Stories of Innovation and Service
Inspiring Solutions for a Better World
Our original podcast, featuring some of the best of our previous speakers, is still available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and many other platforms.
Inspiring Women: Celebrating Trailblazers
Our newest podcast celebrates trailblazing women. It is available on Spotifyand Apple Podcasts, and many other platforms.
Upcoming program recording schedule
All of our guest speakers and programs are recorded live online over Zoom video conference. We welcome members and guests to join us in one of these upcoming recordings. Recordings are approximately 30 minutes long and are subject to change without notice.
Our online video conference room link for these recordings is always http://zoom.siliconvalleyrotary.com/. You are welcome to join us! Please note the timezone listed for all recordings is US Pacific Time (San Francisco, California, USA).
If you can’t join the live recording, please send your questions for an upcoming speaker to programs@siliconvalleyrotary.com.
