Spotlight On.....Llanfyllin

One of the most recent Libraries of Things to open in Wales is Benthyg Llanfyllin, which was started by the hard working team at BRACE (Building Resilience Against the Climate Emergency).

We’ve asked Diana Allen from BRACE to give us some more info about Wales’ newest Library of Things!  

Who are BRACE?  

BRACE  is an organisation based in Llanfyllin but covering the surrounding areas predominantly in the Cain and Tanat valleys.  

We came together to share ideas and look for solutions as the climate and nature emergencies become even more apparent. We were one of the founding groups represented in PACE (Powys Action on the Climate Emergency) which was formed to support Powys County Council after they declared a Climate Emergency.  

Our other projects are a Community Garden, Community Orchard, Repair Cafe, Community Fridge. We also hold monthly open meetings on a diverse range of topics including bird boxes, waste and recycling, energy efficiency, alternative transport ideas. We are leading on The Great Big Green Week 2024 for our area. ‍

How did the idea of a Library of Things come about?  

From 2 directions - one from our Fixperts at the Repair Cafe discussing the idea and secondly from a presentation given by Llanidloes LoT at a network meeting arranged by PAVO

How did you find the process of starting a Library of Things? 

The support form Benthyg Cymru was great, especially the toolkit and list of things to consider!  

We were fortunate that the team who wanted to start it included a great mix of skills, 2 are Fixperts and PAT testers, 1 is a software developer, 1 is great with people and social media, 1 is very creative plus also is happy to keep adding items to our inventory and I just fill in the gaps!!  

We also had help from Llanidloes LoT - they showed us around their space and helped us with insurance via the broker they used. Our initial idea was to work closely with the Llanfyllin Library staff and make use of a shared venue but that proved trickier than we thought so now we just use volunteers from BRACE.

Did you find being a member of Benthyg useful? If so why/how?

Catrin has been such an amazing support, virtually and in person. The day she spent with us setting up the 'back-end' of MyTurn was invaluable as was helping us add the first items to the inventory and the first customers. Then the ongoing email and phone support is truly valued. The Network meetings are also useful and I hope when there will be more LoTs in our area and we will be able to provide even more support to each other - maybe a mentoring system like we have been doing with Repair Cafes starting near to us.

What have you learnt from the experience?  

1. Be patient!!!

We set ourselves a year to be open and we nearly did it - having to cancel our original launch due to circumstances beyond our control. In hindsight it was a blessing but it was very frustrating at the time.  

2. The right people (quality) in the team is more important than lots of people ( quantity)

BUT keep those who are interested informed and involved around the edges. Now we are clearer in how things have to work in our situation we are ready to open up the volunteering opportunities but too many trying to make the early decisions would probably have muddied the waters even further.  

3. Start small

Don't worry if you don't have many items to start with or you are not quite sure how to price things or catalogue them, just make a start. We have now been given so many items we almost have the problem of having to say no as we are running out of space!

Where will you be going next?  

Peer to Peer lending

we keep being asked about this so we want to work with Benthyg Cymru to work out how to do this in a safe and effective way.  

Working with schools

We'd like to work with the school for Duke of Edinburgh volunteering opportunities and also if they want to be a hub for items they could lend (hence choosing MyTurn)  

Upgrade our space

We're looking for a larger storage space - an ongoing core need for most Library of Things

Extended opening

More flexibility for collection and drop-off times  

Get mobile?

Think about how we can reach into the surrounding villages.  

Remember to BE PATIENT!

Benthyg Cymru are so pleased to see Llanfyllin up and running, and it’s been an honour to be able to support!  

Items can be borrowed from Benthyg Llanfyllin from the RDC Room (next to the Library) every Friday evening between 5 & 7pm.

If you fancy starting your own Library of Things, get in touch with Benthyg to see if we can help!

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