My #library passport adventure continues — this week was special because I visited several little free libraries, dropping off #solarpunk zines, on the way to the Big Library, then went to the #HandsOff protest after.

Pretty much the perfect Saturday.

What is a #LibraryEconomy ?
Basically: a nice¹ way of providing goods.

Think:
library-logic → to those who need / use it
(market-logic → to those who pay money)

The core idea:
¹"by creating institutions which can share the bounty of earth fairly, we can have a higher degree of ecological responsibility while also at the same time ending poverty." - @srslywrong

1/n

What is the library economy? What does it look like? What if we ran a library economy?

Andrew Sage a.k.a. Andrewism (@drewthewho) discusses below!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vW5EVNT--DA

@drewthewho just published a video: How Library Economies Work
It is a thought-provoking and desire-stimulating exploration of a society replacing the market-logic with the logic of the library.

#SolarPunk #LibraryEconomy #LibrarySocialism
https://youtu.be/vW5EVNT--DA

"Can you imagine libraries of tools, clothing, and even housing? The library economy can be the bridge to an entirely new world of human flourishing. Let's explore what the library economy is, what may or may not be included, and what it might take to bring it to life."

How Library Economies Work
https://youtu.be/vW5EVNT--DA

Idea: a community clothing closet; basically a thrift store of just clothes, categorized in type and size (but not gender because whatever). You can take out clothes in exchange for signing up on a volunteer sheet or bringing detergent or just with a membership card, depending on how the economy works. But when clothes are returned they go into a sorted laundry area; volunteers do laundry and hang the clothes back up so they can be borrowed by others.

Gonna start a Tool library.

Kanopy is having an "Animated April" event, highlighting animated movies, cartoons, anime, and more.

Free with your local library card* (no ads)

https://www.kanopy.com

• Check your local library to see if they utilize the Kanopy app. If they don't, ask if they use any other apps for free streaming movies / TV shows or if they can sign up for Kanopy.

@fisherstudio @neonsnake - You know, as much as I post about my local library and all the resources they offer, I hadn't realized that I internalized data retrieval as an individual problem.

Of course your local library would be a primary starting place to check on ways to retrieve and store data and may have a CD reader!

Thank you!

I'll run down today and see if I can move the data from the CD or a USB stick!

Seed Library Launch (coinciding with Earth Day) has been posted to the events page of my local library. A couple weeks later will be my Hydroponics for Beginners.

My course will focus on hydroponics growing with a focus on indoor, inexpensive, and passive means. Additional info will be given on mutual aid and community fridges. We'll end with everyone taking home a full grow kit (1-gallon bin, with halo grow lights, nutrients, and grow medium). We'll get our first seeds from the seed library!!!

#solarPunk #hydroponics #indoorGardening #mutualAid #libraryEconomy #seedLibrary

(local hashtags: #fxbg #nova #dmv )

@Zee @polotek
I'm enamored of Dan Hind's inversion of the relationship between the tech builder, the tech savvy, and the rest of the folks in any given community.

https://union.place/@toolbear/111871834784366717

I'm pretty keen on the #LibrarySocialism, #LibraryEconomy, #LibraryOfEverything ideas now that I've been introduced to them recently:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOYa3YzVtyk

I think the Library Socialism dovetails nicely with the topics Dan Hind's interview.

I've been thinking about #toolLibraries and the role of a #LibraryEconomy in the sustainable #solarPunk future I want to work towards. I wrote a little bit about that idea on my blog: https://underwaterbook.club/2024/01/16/unusual-libraries/

Also I need to learn about fediverse post visibility settings.

A #solarpunk photobash, this time a scene from a #LibraryEconomy.

I’ve mentioned elsewhere that I set these postcards a bit earlier in the solarpunk timeline than a lot of other works I know of in the genre. I like seeing the work in progress, the intermediate steps. So I think this photobash is set somewhere in the transition towards a library economy

More info here: https://slrpnk.net/post/5821833

This #photobash and all the other postcards are CC-BY, use them how you want: https://jacobcoffinwrites.wordpress.com/postcards-from-a-solarpunk-future/

I decided to run an experiment this year that I’m excited about! My goal is to test the #libraryeconomy (it’s the future) in practice. I set up a simple spreadsheet for myself and my friends (and hopefully, friends of friends) to create a “things library”. Whatever’s there, we can borrow from each other, free of charge. Stuff such as instruments or tools, but also things that take up space and are not used often, such as an extra duvet for guests, or hiking gear. #solarpunk #sustainability

Woo hoo! Yay free community education!

The library is hosting me as a instructor for a "Hydroponics for Beginners" class!

I'll be teaching the basics of the Kratky method and building out a basic grow bin with everyone.

Plus! We'll be getting our first seeds from the brand new Seed Library that should be built just before the class is set to run!

(Also, they agreed to let me use an assumed name! Woo!)