139. Libraries as Hubs of the Sharing Economy

Libraries are more than places to borrow books; they are dynamic centers of community connection and resource sharing. From lending tools to hosting community meetings and supporting local solutions to global challenges, libraries play a vital role in the sharing economy. Present in diverse communities around the world, they enable patrons to engage and escape, key elements of personal and collective well-being. Join us to explore how libraries are advancing sharing and sustainability actions, discover inspiring examples of non-traditional lending programs, and learn how you can participate in this transformational community effort.Our speaker, Hazel Onsrud, is a public librarian at Curtis Memorial Library in Brunswick, Maine, in the United States. Onsrud works on community programming and collection development, including an extensive library of things focused on the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals. She serves on the international Library of Things Mutual Aid Group, the Advisory Board of the Sustainable Libraries Initiative and the Steering Team of MECollab. She enjoys collaborating with good humans around the globe and was named a 2024 Library Journal Mover and Shaker and a 2025 New York Times Changemaker. Prior to her work as public librarian, Hazel co-founded the Maine Tool Library and spent a bunch of time learning from graceful teachers. In her free time, she likes to create things, eat molés and design gardens.To learn more, go to:LOT Mutual Aid Group: https://sites.google.com/view/lotmutualaid/home Curtis Memorial Library Library of Things: https://curtislibrary.com/library-of-things/ Sustainable Libraries Initiative: https://www.sustainablelibrariesinitiative.org/ Emily Drabinski - The Stories of Librarieshttps://youtu.be/jTzhVjDujuY Sif Jensen - Unjudge Someone, the Human Libraryhttps://youtu.be/STpTmIo6EGQ Anthony Chow - Reading Nation Waterfall: Ensuring Equal Access to Books for All Childrenhttps://youtu.be/NhOhuUszuq0Purnima Rao and Shivam Singh - Building The People's Library: India's Free Library Movementhttps://youtu.be/W-gSoOwsBOY