About Us

The Thing Library is a space where Londoners access equipment and training to share, repair, create and learn together.

Our vision is to reduce waste and facilitate skill-sharing among community members to build resilience and belonging.

Just like a library is a place where you can borrow books, a Thing Library (also known as a library of things or a tool library) is a place where you can borrow things.

Thing libraries have been around for many years, and there are hundreds of them around the world, including in Toronto, Guelph, and Kitchener-Waterloo.

In April 2022, a not-for-profit Thing Library opened in London, Ontario, located downtown at 206 Piccadilly St.

The sharing of tools and other household items allows community members to borrow from a large inventory of items to use at home. This pooling of resources benefits the environment through saving energy, natural resources, storage space and money. At the same time giving equitable access to these items to those who would not have another means of affording them.

The Library concept promotes a circular economy, moving from the traditional “take-make-waste” approach of buying unnecessary items to an interconnected community ecosystem that provides a support network for small homes, food preparation, and garden projects.

The London Thing Library launched in April 2022. We are currently accepting donations – see our

Click here to view our current inventory.

Most of the things we offer fall into the following categories::

The London Thing Library is for anyone who is looking to reclaim space in their home, save money on expensive equipment, generate less waste and be a part of this community.

If any of these ideas resonate with you, the London Thing Library is for you!

The London Thing Library is perfect for the weekend warrior looking to tackle projects around the house. It is perfect for the prepper, with lots of food storage equipment to store fresh foods for longer. It is perfect for the gardener whether you need an extra shovel or equipment to turn your bounty into jam or pickles. With workshops and events, you can learn about things that interest you and borrow the things you'll need to see them through. Whatever your hobby is, the London Thing Library is here to support you!

We also strive to support those who lack access to home equipment that other Londoners may take for granted. The London Thing Library helps eliminate barriers to accessing equipment that may be too expensive, heavy or large, by allowing people to borrow it as needed.

The London Thing Library is housed in the same building as Reimagine Co's package-free grocery store at 206 Piccadilly Street in downtown London, Ontario.

You can browse and reserve our inventory of things online and pick them up during store opening hours.

For a monthly membership fee, you will be able to borrow several things at once, for up to a week at a time. There is a reduced rate for those on a low income.

The Thing Library's lending function will be paired with training workshops for all skill levels, repair café events, and other events and programs that facilitate skill-sharing among community members to build resilience and belonging.

The Thing Library is operated by the Reimagine Institute for Community Sustainability (known as Reimagine Institute or RICS for short), which is a federal not-for-profit.

The Thing Library is the result of a partnership between Reimagine and Thames Region Ecological Association, with support from the City of London, Libro Credit Union, London Community Foundation, SSHRC, Westminster College Foundation, Tuckey Home Hardware, the Signal Boost Initiative and the Government of Canada.

The Thing Library relies on grants and sponsorships from $1,000 upwards to support our work in these early days, and intends to be fully self-sufficient in 5-10 years. We are in conversations with other potential partners, sponsors and funders. If your organization would be interested in sponsoring or partnering with us, please email info@thinglibrary.ca

The Reimagine Institute for Community Sustainability is a federally incorporated not-for-profit whose goals include:

Reimagine Co is a social enterprise that works closely alongside Reimagine Institute and operates a package-free grocery out of the same building as the Thing Library. Learn more about Reimagine Co:

TREA’s main goal is to educate its members and community to protect the environment, stay informed and take personal action. We also have an entrepreneurial streak given that TREA encourages citizen participation and innovative projects from and for the community.

Much of TREA’s work is one-on-one to help mentor citizens over barriers toward sustainable behaviours through more informed decisions. TREA supports new community leaders, and their innovative projects from and for the community, and TREA moves forward collaborative efforts to bring about change. This has included activities such as workshops, curricula, measurable projects, conferences, outreach, training, position statements, and public policy.

TREA projects support TREA’s strategic goals of increasing waste diversion, active transportation and reducing fossil fuel usage. TREA has been a pioneer in the community and looks forward to continuing a leadership role. Most of TREA’s work is done by volunteers. TREA funds its activities and operations primarily through membership fees, partnership projects, grants and donations.

Learn more about TREA here:

Check out more: