History

Through feedback from residents in the Love Your Block program, the City of Richmond’s brick-and-mortar Richmond Tool Library, located at the Richmond Recreation Complex, opened in 2016. It is a free tool lending service for Richmond residents.

The idea behind the new North Richmond Mobile Tool Library was to get tools into the hands of agencies and residents of North Richmond so they could transform their homes and neighborhoods into vibrant spaces that reflect community pride. By bringing a tool library on wheels directly into North Richmond, we could make the service even more accessible to Shields-Reid and unincorporated North Richmond residents.

Through funding from the City of Richmond and Contra Costa County North Richmond Mitigation Fee Fund, the North Richmond Mobile Tool Library began development in 2018.

Bringing the tool trailer to life:

A collaboration with Rebuilding Together East Bay-North helped us modify the interior of our trailer. Our trailer has come a long way since the beginning. We are now able to hang and store a variety of tools inside for transport! To the left is the transformation of an empty trailer into our mobile tool library for the community to rent free tools from in the future.

Meeting the Community:

Engaging with the North Richmond community is important to us. In 2021, we conducted a needs assessment and incorporated community feedback into our plans. We also took part in other community events to solicit feedback and inform residents about our upcoming service. Our community engagement ensured that we would meet the needs of our future members. 

(Photo credit for team photo: Urban Tilth)

Soft Launch at North Richmond Earth Day 2022:

We held our soft launch at North Richmond Earth Day events on April 22 and April 23, 2022! Our soft launch allowed us to be available for Non-Profit Members (North Richmond Non-Profits and Public Agencies). We began working towards our Grand Opening for Regular Members, after which our services would be fully available.

Grand Opening on January 21, 2023:

Residents of North Richmond got a closer look at the North Richmond Mobile Tool Library at our grand opening. With support from the community and other organizations, about 100 participants enjoyed a fun-filled event with exciting activities: a bike repair workshop led by Rich City Rides, birdhouse building led by Rebuilding Together East Bay-North, t-shirt screen printing done by Mobile Tool Library staff, and a variety of community resource tables.

Representatives from the Office of Mayor Martinez, Supervisor Gioia, and Assemblymember Wicks shared remarks and presented the Mobile Tool Library with certificates of recognition, which was followed by a ribbon-cutting ceremony. We thank all who attended and contributed to the success of the event! 

Check out the full album of our grand opening event by clicking here. Photos provided courtesy of Community Services-Recreation and the Office of Mayor Martinez.