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Raw Blame History

Decision Log — Mossridge Tool Lending Library

2026-03-04

Pursuing the project. Adult Services Librarian + Library Director agreed there's enough informal demand signal (years of "do you lend tools?" inquiries) to investigate seriously. Acknowledged that informal inquiries are not the same as validated demand.

2026-03-11

Reference programs to study: Berkeley, Oakland, Toronto. Selected based on size, longevity, and accessibility of operational data.

2026-03-25

Initial scope: hand and power tools only. Rejected including specialty categories (sewing, electronics test gear, automotive) for MVP. Reason: staff expertise and storage. Revisit year 2.
Free model. Confirmed — paid model rejected as inconsistent with library mission. Donation jar approved as soft revenue.

2026-04-01

Volunteer-run model. Selected to keep ongoing operating costs low. Acknowledged risk: Berkeley correspondence flagged staff-hours as the biggest sustainability concern in similar programs. Plan to revisit at year-one review.

2026-04-08

Funding architecture: ARPA grant + Friends matching + in-kind donations. Considered municipal budget request; rejected as too slow (next budget cycle is 18 months out). Grant is faster but requires fall 2027 launch deadline.

2026-04-15

Launch timing: Q3 2027. Driven by ARPA grant deadline, not by service-readiness analysis. Acknowledged this is grant-driven, not user-driven, timing.
Year-one target: 300 unique borrowers. Set by analogy to comparable programs scaled to Mossridge population. No local validation underlying this number.

2026-04-22

Hardware store satellite deferred to year 2. Operational complexity exceeds our launch capacity.
Liability: pending formal opinion from town legal. Borrower waiver in draft.

2026-04-30

Brief finalized for board meeting. Status moved to final.
Open items acknowledged for board discussion: demand validation method, volunteer sustainability, written legal opinion on off-premises tool use coverage.