Library of Things

Mon 12 Sep 2016, 16:31

For anyone who is unaware, I am the person Malcolm was referring to in his post. And I feel saddened and dissapointed that he feels the need to slander me,and my work without me having the opportunity to defend myself. Malcolm was kind enough to lend me an diesel to use at my sisters wedding last year with the understanding I would return it in a month, and due to it being left in the venue along with all if the other?props?and decorations I had spent a year making, I was
reliant on my sister to retrieve them. However this never happened despite me constantly asking her, and eventually she explainedto me the venue had cclosed and she didn't have the heart to tell me due to the fact she felt so bad about it. I have apologised to Malcolm on more than one occasion, and I have also offered to replace the item or to reimburse him for the cost, which is something he failed to mention in his comments. I completely understand his dissapointment and frustration and fact that he would feel unsure of lending future things to people as his experience with me has left him with a bad taste. But the circumstances were not intentional, and I am genuinely sorry. However I still feel it was childish and quite mean to deal with this in this manner, rather than contacting me directly.

Fri 26 Aug 2016, 08:42

humanlibrary.org

Thu 25 Aug 2016, 12:08

@Miles - this sounds a little Antony Gormley-esque :)

Thu 25 Aug 2016, 09:26

• like button*

Thu 25 Aug 2016, 08:45 (last edited on Thu 25 Aug 2016, 08:48)

Have you seen the Human Library? Essentially you "take out" a person to talk to in an attempt to speak to a type of person you might never encounter in life. I would take out James Styring and just look at him. I dont really want to hear him speak.

Wed 24 Aug 2016, 20:41

Malcolm, I may just know the person you mean, I loaned that person a book and never got it back and they ignored by texts to return it, does leave a nasty taste, hopefully nobody buys their up-cycled junk.

Wed 24 Aug 2016, 19:04 (last edited on Wed 24 Aug 2016, 19:16)

Well it's fine in theory but my own experience has been very bad indeed.
I loaned an item to a woman in Charlbury who made the request here. Supposedly the item would be returned within a month. That was 15 months ago and i'm still waiting for it be be returned!!!
I have been given every lame excuse imaginable for its none return. However; the same person can find lots of time to up-cycle several items and advertise them currently on this web site for sale.
Is this behavior acceptable?
The lack of the return of the item has personally cost me much time, inconvenience and money, as I have had to hire a replacement on several occasions!

I have been banned from naming and shaming the individual concerned by the site admin.
If you want to have a library of items which can be loaned out, which I think is an excellent idea, there must be means of ensuring that those people who do not return items as agreed are sanctioned.

I would hate to think others loaning out something are treated in the despicable way I have been!

Wed 24 Aug 2016, 09:04

A good idea James.

Tue 23 Aug 2016, 18:18

There was another thread here on the same subject: forum.charlbury.info/thread/1704#11226

Tue 23 Aug 2016, 15:59

I like the idea of this and think it would be great if we could set up a good system, but appreciate the practical difficulties mentioned in the original thread. One tip I've heard of when loaning items either personally or more formally is to take a photo of the person with the item when they borrow it. It means you don't forget who you lent that missing book to, and also means you have a nice image to post on this website if the item doesn't get returned. :-)

Tue 23 Aug 2016, 12:01

PS I have been referred to forum.charlbury.info/thread/3391 (by someone who apparently sits at his desk refreshing the Forum listings every 30 seconds!).

Tue 23 Aug 2016, 11:52

A 'Library of Things' would be a great idea for Charlbury. It's a system for borrowing tools and things you need infrequently and that are expensive to buy or hire from hire shops. There's an interesting report here goo.gl/eQz7rH. "Anyone can become a member, it's free to join, and up to five items can be borrowed (for a small fee) per week."

Would there be room in the Corner House after the Library has moved, or another central location?

PS I'd be especially pleased if anyone were to contribute a garden shredder and a breaking/demolition hammer to such a scheme …