NorthView Heights Business Leadership

These notes are to accompany a presentation to the Northview Heights Grade 12 Business Leadership classes, conducted at CSI, May 26, 2026.

What is a Lending Library?

Of course everyone knows what a library is – we can all go to a library to borrow books that we can read and then return so that someone else can read that same book. It is a way of sharing that is organised and curated by a small group of people for the benefit of a much larger group.

Let’s talk about the business of lending libraries, using a tool called the Business Model Canvas.

As a business, a lending library’s customer segments and their relationship to those customers are going to be based on the inventory they stock. All lending libraries have a similar value proposition – access to resources that people might not otherwise be able to use, based on cost and a variety of other reasons. Their key activities will include caring for the inventory, updating it, adding and removing items based on customer activity. The key resources will be the physical inventory they share, the skilled people they rely on, and whatever finances they use to operate.

Public vs. Private Non-profit

Often a book library will be a publicly funded resource, which means that the primary key partnership is going to be either municipal, provincial or federal government. A public lending library will rely on their key partner also for the channels they use to reach customers about their services.

Private lending libraries, typically non-profit structures, differ in that they typically are not publicly funded. As a result they need to find their own key partners, and build their own channels to reach their customers. Their revenue stream relies on funding via the community they have built, and that revenue must be able to cover their costs, such as rent, utilities, upkeep, wages, and advertising. On the other hand, they have a lot of freedom to serve niche communities and can do quite a lot of good. A private lending library is usually a hyper-local business.

View the Library of Things Toolkit

The Toronto Tool Library Example

Founded in 2012, the Toronto Tool Library is one of the longest-running examples of a private non-profit lending library. Rather than books, the TTL stocks an inventory of tools that members can use to build things, do renovations, fix things, and even contribute to community efforts such as shared gardens.

Because the inventory is tools, the customer relationship is one of personal assistance – many people are not used to working with tools, and want a person who can help them figure out what they need and how to use it. As a result, the TTL has a high reliance on the key resource of skilled people who have experience building and fixing things.

View the Lawrence Heights Revitalization

Being located in downtown Toronto, the TTL typically serves community members in small spaces – apartments, condominiums, and small homes. In some cases space is the limiting factor for our members who want to build things. In 2015 the TTL set out to meet this need by creating the TTLMakerspace.

The TTLMakerspace Expansion

The TTLMakerspace is a separate, though related business dedicated to providing education on the use of tools. It started very simply and has grown to include modern digital fabrication methods, CAD modelling, programming and electronics.

Many of the customer segments are the same as the lending library, but the customer relationship is quite different. People come to the lending library hoping to get what they need and exit quickly so they can get to work. They come to the TTLMakerspace to spend time developing their skills. They want personalised help and assistance. This means the TTLMakerspace has an even higher reliance on skilled people, and thus a higher cost structure to maintain that key resource.

View Claire – student of TTLMakerspace, CNC

About Me

I am a long-time entrepreneur and creative technologist. I founded and ran Oddly Studios from 2007 to 2017 creating spectacular experiences for large for-profit companies. In 2017 I grew interested in the non-profit world and the maker movement, and by 2019 became the director of IRBE, the organisation behind the Toronto Tool Library and the TTLMakerspace.