Membership Info

Is a Library Membership right for you?

If you are 18 or over, able to collect and return items to our home at the Mullum Community Hall and are passionate about sharing, repairing, saving emmisions, saving money and ultimately reducing our communities impact on the planet then a Library membership is something you will find simply sensational.

It’s important to know we can’t function well without effort from our members.  If you already know what we need from you in addition to your membership fee then skip straight to joining by creating an account here.  If you need to know more then here’s what you need to know.

 

How much does it cost?

We are passionate about keeping our membership fees affordable for all residents and not for profit (NFP) organisations in our community.  A standard household membership costs $50 a year and we have two NFP memberships – one that covers small events (up to 50 people) for $50 and one that covers large events for $90.  We also have a trial membership – $20 for two months but this restricts the member to only borrowing a maximum of 5 items at a time.

We don’t allow household membership holders to borrow our stuff to support events or commercial activity other than a situation where they may wish to try holding a market stall to see if the endevour is worth pursuing regularly or for the occassional garage sale.  If you are assisting with an event then please speak to us about our the best way for the Library assets to help reduce the need for the event to buy stuff they only need to use once.  We sponsor NFP’s organisations by providing assets for a small event for free.

Please do not view us as a cheap alternative to local hire companies. 

They are our allies in offering alternatives to buying items infrequently required by our community.

If you love what we are working so hard to develop and have the capacity to donate additional funds please consider making a donation – tax deductible receipts can be provided via our partner and auspicor, Mullum SEED Incorporated.  See our donation page for more information.

We are only ever open for 2 hours and there's an important reason why

In order to allow all items to be able to be booked back to back (really important for our most popular items) we require all returns to arrive in the FIRST HOUR of a session.  This allows for another member who has booked returning items to rely on them being ready to collect in the SECOND HOUR.

We have staggered our open times to try to suit more lifestyles.  As our capacity grows we hope to open more days.

 

Not returning items or failing to collect reservations places the initiative at risk

It’s easy to imagine arriving to collect an item you have booked and the disappointment you would feel if the previous lender hadn’t returned it.  This could seriously impact your plans to go camping, do some DIY or organise the stuff you need to put on a party or fundraising event.  If you borrow items or book them then can’t for whatever reason return or collect the items as expected the system allows you to renew items or to cancel or change your reservation.  If any of the items are booked by another member the system will stop you from renewing them.  If you have trouble updating your reservation or extending a loan you MUST call or text the Library’s mobile so our volunteer team can assist you and notify other members if need be. Please add our mobile number to the contacts in your phone under the Library of Stuff – avoid emailing us as that creates additional work for our team.

0431 005 755

As a member you accept that borrowing instead of buying means you are making a sacrifice of convenience. 

We know from surveying our members that this effort is something they are pleased to make AS LONG AS the service is RELIABLE.

We rely on our members and our members rely on each other.

 

Avoid disappointment and always reserve what you want before attending

Once you are a paid up member you will see the Reserve button on each item you view in the inventory.  Once you have chosen the items to reserve in, you must go to the cart and submit it in a similiar fashion to an online shopping experience where you ‘go to the cart’ to complete your purchase.

We strongly recommend you view this  MyTurn cart instructional video on how to navigate this (thanks to our mates up in TOOLO in the Blue Mountains for sharing). Your reservation is only complete when you have received an email from My Turn, the software system we use to manage the Library’s operations. 

Complete our Vollie Registration form to let us know how you would like to help

 The operation is not yet financially sustainable without majority volunteer labour.  As we grow so does the load on the few regular volunteers.  If you can help either regularly or on an adhoc or ‘from home’ basis please complete our Vollie Registration form to let us know what you can offer and we’ll find a way for you to integrate into the growing team of legends!  

Liability, the legal stuff and credit card details held on file

  1. Please attend personally the first time you borrow stuff as we require sighting your photo ID and proof of address.  Once this has been done you are welcome to have other people pick up and return items on your behalf.  Please don’t ask a friend to drop an item back that is in poorer condition than when you borrowed it as that makes for the awkward situation where we ask that the person return it to you until you can attend to discuss the problem.
  2. In order to book items our system requires that you record a payment method on your account.  Handling cash creates a significant administrative burden to our team so we prefer memberships are processed online.  You can make a direct transfer to our bank account and stipulate no payments are made on your card but having the card details on file is required.
  3. When you join you will be required to sign our Liability Waiver and Term and Conditions.  Basically the use of Library items is at your own risk.  We ensure all electrical items are tested and tagged every three months and endevour to ensure all items are in a safe working condition.  It is up to you to know how to use the items.  If you are unfamiliar with power tools you wish to borrow we strongly recommend you do a half day Upskill course at Shedding Community Workshop.  We reserve the right to refuse to lend any items that we believe pose a risk to you or the item itself based on your knowledge of how to use and care for it. 
  4. If items are damaged or lost by you (general wear and tear excepted) you are expected to rectify the loss.  Please always advise the Library team immediately you become aware there is damage or loss.  Do not wait until the day the item is due back as another member may have booked it and be expecting it to be in good working order for them.  Call the Library mobile on 0431 005 755.

 

Receiving and reading important Library updates

It’s really important that you receive and read email updates from the Library.  These are sent no more frequently than monthly and always include vital information as well as nice-to-know stuff.  Please subscribe below.

 

 

 

 

Tips on creating your account and getting the most from your membership:    

1.  Please leave the Membership ID field blank. A number will be automatically allocated to you.

2.  When you reach the payment page it may not be obvious but you have successfully created your myturn account. 

3.  Once you have added a credit card and processed the membership payment your account is active and you can submit a booking. 

4. All inquirires are asked to me made via text or by calling the dedicated Library of Stuff Mobile on 0431 005 755 to minimise the effort for our team to monitor emails and social channels.