Could the Library of Things cure our obsession with buying?

Hazel Sheffield speaks to co-founder Sophia Wyatt about making borrowing not just easier, but a way to bring people together

Sophia Wyatt, co-founder, in front of the Library of Things kiosk in South London (Fluid4Sight)

It’s just after lunchtime on a Tuesday in December at the Upper Norwood Library Hub, a community-run library that straddles five boroughs in south London.

By the window, a futuristic wall of plywood lockers features a screen announcing the Library of Things: a place to borrow useful homeware, DIY equipment and other goods that take up space and gather dust in the home.

There’s a PA system, a pasta maker and a sewing machine. A tile cutter, a carpet cleaner and a tent. The items are available to borrow for a £1 joining fee and as little as £7 a day. At 3.30pm, local resident Lindsey Pereria drops in with her baby in a buggy to pick up a carpet cleaner. “It’s a really good idea,” she says. “I’ll definitely get the carpet cleaner, because it’s very expensive to get people to come out and do it for you.”