Lending Libraries.

At the heart of SALTIE Museum’s mission is a belief in community-powered solutions — where creativity, sustainability, and shared resources come together to spark meaningful change. Our Free Local Lending Libraries are a growing expression of this. Designed as neighborhood hubs for knowledge and materials exchange, these micro-libraries will begin dotting Nantucket’s landscape with a focus on accessibility and inspiration.

We're beginning with what’s simple but powerful: Books. These small, free-standing libraries will be installed across the island, filled with rotating titles — from design guides and sustainability how-tos to fiction and children’s books. While our emphasis is on environmental literacy and the creative reuse movement, we believe all books are welcome, and every story has the power to inform and ignite action.

Alongside each Lending Library, we’ll be placing a SALTIE Box — a weather-protected cabinet or container for the exchange of useful salvaged materials and sustainable tools. Think: extra tiles from a renovation, seed packets, crafting scraps, or hand tools. Each location will be managed by SALTIE Museum volunteers who help keep the spaces tidy, refreshed, and ready for the next donation.

Through these shared spaces, we hope to nurture a circular culture on Nantucket — one where neighbors build together, borrow instead of buy, and see the value in passing things forward. Whether you're picking up a book on native pollinators, leaving a spool of twine for the next gardener, or simply pausing for a moment of inspiration, these libraries are here for all of us.

This is just the beginning. As our Lending Library network grows, we envision a more connected and resourceful island community — one where sustainability isn’t a lofty concept, but a shared, lived experience.