Important Update

09 July, 2020

Hi friends – I hope you’ve been keeping well.

The Calgary Tool Library will remain temporarily closed until further notice. We will be returning as soon as possible, as we hurry to sort out a few important business details. Please keep reading.

First of all: I apologise to all our members, as well as anyone hoping to join and share our tools. Forces beyond our control have prevented us from opening our doors as soon as we wish to. We are currently working hard alongside our parent organization, the BRCA, to forge a new path forward. It makes me sad that our tools have sat locked away for so long; thank you so very much for your patience as we create a new direction in a changed world.

I’d also like to remind our members that any membership time you’ve missed out on due to our closure will be added back to your account as soon as we reopen.

What’s Brewing:

Restrictions on public gathering are preventing our parent org, the BRCA, from reopening their facilities (so, by extension, our facilities) in a viable way. As a proud BRCA program, we rely on their infrastructure to operate, and unfortunately, that means that we can’t reopen until the entire BRCA can reopen too, at least with things structured the way they currently are… So, with the BRCA’s support, we are going independent.

The Calgary Tool Library is currently working toward incorporating as a not-for-profit cooperative, this year.

I’ve always believed that the tools and knowledge that we share at the Calgary Tool Library belong to all of us collectively. This community of generous, conscientious members and volunteers has, over the past five years, inspired me with confidence and trust; we can, and will, make the best decisions for ourselves and each other, together.

What you need to know:

Nothing substantial would change about the way you access our program, and our service model would almost entirely remain the same; most of the hard work we’re putting into the change only affects things behind-the-scenes.

Going forward, Tool Library members would be Tool Library Cooperative members, but just like before, any profits we might generate will be reinvested into the organization.

Our pricing model would have to be adjusted a bit (and we’d have to start charging GST), but our mission of keeping membership dues as low as physically possible remains the same (and Community Memberships aren’t going anywhere, either).

We’re also remaining in the exact same location, and will continue to build our relationship with the Bridgeland community and the BRCA.

So, the gist of it is, the astounding Calgary Tool Library board of directors and I are currently working as hard and as fast as we can, so that your Tool Library can reopen as soon as possible, as an independent cooperative:

The Calgary Tool Library Cooperative.

More details to come soon!

Nathan