Tool lending library revives home improvement projects

Here’s One out of Oakland, CA, where Ty Yurgelevic works as the Oakland Tool Lending Library chief tool-lending specialist.

The center sits tucked away at the library’s Temescal branch on Telegraph Avenue. Upstairs, inside the historic red-bricked Carnegie-era building, is a grandiose room, with a cathedral ceiling, hardwood floors and perpetual hush.

In the basement, with the entrance round back, sits the inconspicuous tool center. There, the workshop buzzes like a small-town saloon, a hub where do-it-yourselfers chatter while library technicians two-step around each other.