Everyone’s familiar with the concept of a public library. Sign up and you can check out thousands of books that would otherwise be inaccessible. But what if you need a sewing machine? Or plan to start a garden? Buying a tool just to use it once seems inefficient. So why not borrow?
That’s the idea behind the Coyotl + Macehualli lending library in El Sereno.
Lending library manager Cesar Montero sits at the front desk of the library surrounded by items that can be checked out.
A need for the community
Coyotl + Macehualli, which means “coyote and indigenous person” in Nahuatl, is a community organization dedicated to preserving land in Northeast L.A.
Books are just the start at this new community library in El Sereno
The lending library serves as headquarters for that mission, along with providing resources for the neighborhood and beyond.
Coyotl + Macehualli has been doing environmental justice organizing in the Los Angeles neighborhood of El Sereno for years. But executive director Brenda Contreras said the group lacked a central location.
Executive Director of Coyotl+Macehualli stands next to a bookshelf that was specially made for the library. The wood for the shelf comes from a Sycamore tree from Altadena and was hand crafted by a local artist.
A Coyotl+Macehualli lending library label on one of the books you can check out at the library.
“We were itinerant and we were also collecting tools and we were talking about different ideas. So the idea of the lending library kind of originated organically.” Contreras said.
The group began searching for a place to call home at the end of last year, and got their keys to their Eastern Avenue headquarters in January.
Lending Library Manager Cesar Montero, Executive Director of Coyotl+Macehualli Brenda Contreras, and co-founder of Coyotl+Macehualli Micah Haserjian stand below an artist’s recreation of an ancient whale found in Northeast L.A.
How does it work?
Manager of the lending library Cesar Montero sits behind his check out desk with a rack of items waiting to be checked out from the library behind him.
Then they went to work to reimagine the building into an inviting place for the neighborhood, filled with furniture and art by local artists.
The lending library was launched in June, operating between Thursdays and Saturdays.
“ Not everyone needs to buy a shovel. Not everyone needs to have a pitchfork,” said Contreras.
All of the library’s supplies come from donations. A wish list of items is taped on their outside window so people can see what they can donate – to add to their current inventory that includes musical instruments, megaphones, a sewing machine, and more.
One page of the wish list taped to the front window the Coyotl+Macehualli Lending Library
Another page of wish list items taped to the front window of the Coyotl+Macehualli Lending Library.
Befitting any library, they also have a large collection of books with a focus on those by authors of color. Genres ranging from children’s lit, to cookbooks, social justice, and local history.
Contreras says the library is open to anyone in the community. There are two membership options: Pay a yearly fee or sign up as a volunteer that contributes 30 hours of time within a 12 month period.
People can sign up in person or on their website.
More than just a library
Members of Coyotl+Macehualli stand in the lending library as a local street vendor enters to sell them some sweet bread.
Before the launch of the library, the group was already using the space to work with the community. According to Contreras, the organization helped with mutual aid during the fires, housed reading groups, and offered space for different organization meetings.
César Montero, manager of the lending library, said that the library also serves as a third space.
They offer free water, snacks and Wi-Fi for anyone that stops by. They also have an abundance of locally screen printed T-shirts available for purchase.
“You don’t have to come here and buy something,” he said. “But I think just having people use the space and take ownership of it. I think that’s beautiful.”
Executive Director Brenda Contreras poses with one of the many t-shirts Coyotl+Macehualli has made and has on site at the lending library.
For example, they want to collaborate with the local middle schoolers to help decorate the space as part of a long-term community art project.
“We are going to ask them to envision how they view their neighborhood,” said Contreras.
Ultimately, the library is meant to be a source of positivity, something the whole of L.A. needs particularly after the fires, and in the wake of the recent immigration raids.
”The space is here for anyone that wants to contribute to it and that wants to build,” said Montero.
Coyotl+Macehualli co-founders Brenda Contreras and Micah Haserjian stand outside the Tool and Book Lending Library on 3347 Eastern Avenue in El Sereno.
Details
Coyotl + Macehualli Tool and Book Lending Library
Location: 3347 N. Eastern Ave, Los Angeles, California 90032
Hours: Thursday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Friday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.