The Manchester Library of Things is based at Levenshulme Old Library, Cromwell Grove, Levenshulme, Manchester M19 3QE. You’ll see our shipping container outside the building, but please pop inside to our info desk. It’s the door to the right of the main Old Library entrance, look out for our signage.

We source our items second-hand where possible, always ensuring they meet our high standards when it comes to quality, brand and condition.  Many items are donated by generous individuals and organisations. If you have an item that you don’t use, please consider donating it to us.

But we also stock the library with new items, with the aim that it can be used lots of times by the MCRLOT community – rather than just once a year, which often happens when we all buy the same items individually.

If you have something you no longer use or need, please email us at info@mcrlot.com with the details. If it’s a good make and model, and in good condition, we may find a home for it in our library. You can also see what we’re looking for on our wish list here.

It’s like a normal library, but with things instead of books. The only difference is that there’s a small charge to borrow, to cover the cost of running MCRLOT. You can either sign up for an annual membership and borrow for free, or choose pay as you go with a small fee for each item. Find out more about how it works and memberships here.

We aim to be your community shed, stocking things that are extremely useful, but that you only need occasionally. We have stuff you need, and stuff you want to try.

We have items in lots of different categories, including power tools, gardening equipment, cleaning appliances, party and camping supplies. From pizza ovens to binoculars, thermal imaging cameras to pressure washers – if it’s useful, we aim to stock it.

No, you can borrow things on a pay-as-you-go basis if you prefer. You’ll see prices for one-off borrows in our catalogue. 

But if you sign up as a member and pay an annual fee, you’ll get to borrow everything for free for a year (conditions and borrowing limits apply).  

Please note that you will need to register with MCRLOT and provide your details in order to start borrowing, but this is free. There are limits to how many items you can borrow at once, as per our lending policies.

It’s simple. You pay the annual membership fee, and in return you get access to everything in the Manchester Library of Things (depending on availability, and conditions/borrowing limits apply).

If you know you’ll use the library at least once a month or perhaps have a whole house to renovate, this could be the best value option. 

Alternatively, you can use the library on a pay-as-you-go basis. You’ll see prices for one-off borrows in our catalogue. We keep prices as low as possible. All funds are used to cover MCRLOT’s operating costs – we are a not-for-profit social enterprise.

There are three types of membership available at MCRLOT:

• Annual membership – £50. Borrow everything for free for a year (conditions and borrowing limits apply)
• Discounted membership – £20. An annual membership for students and people on a low income (please show evidence when collecting your first item). We aim to make MCRLOT accessible to as many people as possible.
• Premium membership – £80. An annual membership with an extra donation for MCRLOT. With your help, we can subsidise more discounted memberships to local people on low incomes.

Alternatively, you can borrow on a pay as you go basis.

We don’t have the means to deliver borrowed items right now, but watch this space – we’re working on how we can potentially offer a delivery service in the future.

MCRLOT is a not-for-profit social enterprise, run by volunteers for the benefit of the community. The fees we charge to borrow items from the library are to keep MCRLOT running and cover our operational costs. We have to pay for things like insurance, rent and power, as well as to source and maintain new stock for the library.

So that we can keep MCRLOT accessible to as many people as possible, we have a Discounted membership rate for students and people on a low income.

Yes please! MCRLOT is completely volunteer-led, so we’re always looking for extra people to help out. If you can give a few hours of your time a month to support our project, we’d love to hear from you. Please email info@mcrlot.com for a chat with one of the team.

We have opportunities for helping out with:

• On-site shifts – 4 hours on Saturday daytimes when library users collect and drop off items
• Updating social media
• Accounting, emails and admin
• Repairing, maintaining and testing our items.

To collect an item from the Library of Things, you’ll need to first reserve it online. Make sure you pay for your item in full before the collection day. Then, just come along and pick it up.

IMPORTANT: You must bring ID with you to collect. If it’s your first borrow, we’ll need to see photo ID and proof of address, such as a recent utility bill.