Our story
Brighton Borrowers began life as a post on the Facebook group for residents of the Sylvan Hall estate in Brighton.
Inspired by Libraries of Things elsewhere such as Share:Frome and Lewes Library of Things, we wanted to set up a Library of Things in our own community. Just like book libraries, libraries of things allow people to borrow items when they need them, and then return them to be used again by their neighbours. This increases access to the things we need, and reduces our impact on the environment. It also strengthens our community.
Since that initial Facebook post, we’ve grown quickly, recruiting new members through other community social media groups and newsletters, visiting similar projects around the country to learn more about how they work, and establishing ourselves as a Community Interest Company - Brighton Library of Things CIC - in March 2022.
In August 2022 we received a grant from the National Lottery Communities Fund, which has been enormously helpful in getting us from idea to reality.
Our goals
Improve everybody’s access to things.
Many of the activities that people need and want to do require access to certain things, and with living costs increasing daily, the cost of these things is often a barrier. By pooling our resources, sharing the things that we have, we aim to enable everybody to do the things they need and want to do.
Reduce our environmental impact.
We often buy things that we only use very rarely. The environmental impact of manufacturing these things is the same as if they were being used every day. By sharing the things we already have and encouraging re-use, we aim to reduce the environmental impact of our community and help to respond to the climate crisis.
Strengthen community.
By sharing the things we need, we hope to build on and strengthen the trust, solidarity and mutual aid on which community is based. We were incredibly inspired by the community response to the COVID-19 pandemic, from Mutual Aid groups to those making and distributing scrubs for healthcare workers. While many of these have since disappeared, we hope to continue this spirit of mutual aid in a longer-lasting, more stable and resilient way. We also aim to work collaboratively with other community groups wherever possible.
