Access over ownership: case studies of Libraries of Things
Access over ownership: case studies of Libraries of Things
Over the last decade there has been increasing interest in the concept of the sharing economy, which replaces the focus on individual ownership with a focus on access to goods and services through borrowing, hiring or sharing. This study investigates the efficacy of extending the library concept to include more items, such as those that are used infrequently. The aim is to explore how Libraries of Things (LoTs) operate and the potential to broaden their appeal, reach and sustainability. This study adopts a multiple case study method to provide a snapshot of six LoTs in the UK. Findings indicate that all LoTs shared common environmental and social values, with the most prevalent values being to use the library concept to reduce resource use and waste and to enable more equitable access to goods. All relied on volunteers and public support, in the form of free or discounted space and none were yet economically self-sufficient. This poses important questions about the future for LoTs and whether they could or even should, transition towards the mainstream to make a more substantive contribution to creating a more socially equitable and environmentally sustainable economy.
Access-based consumption, Circular economy, Library of Things, Product Service Systems, Sharing Economy, Sustainable Business Models, collaborative consumption
Baden, Denise
daad83b9-c537-4d3c-bab6-548b841f23b5
Peattie, Ken
e4570031-c6f8-4da8-af28-63b506600d1c
Oke, Adekunle
e4337323-88c1-4533-8536-2eb72615918b
2 September 2020
Baden, Denise
daad83b9-c537-4d3c-bab6-548b841f23b5
Peattie, Ken
e4570031-c6f8-4da8-af28-63b506600d1c
Oke, Adekunle
e4337323-88c1-4533-8536-2eb72615918b
Baden, Denise, Peattie, Ken and Oke, Adekunle
(2020)
Access over ownership: case studies of Libraries of Things.
Sustainability, 12 (17), [7180].
(doi:10.3390/su12177180).
Abstract
Over the last decade there has been increasing interest in the concept of the sharing economy, which replaces the focus on individual ownership with a focus on access to goods and services through borrowing, hiring or sharing. This study investigates the efficacy of extending the library concept to include more items, such as those that are used infrequently. The aim is to explore how Libraries of Things (LoTs) operate and the potential to broaden their appeal, reach and sustainability. This study adopts a multiple case study method to provide a snapshot of six LoTs in the UK. Findings indicate that all LoTs shared common environmental and social values, with the most prevalent values being to use the library concept to reduce resource use and waste and to enable more equitable access to goods. All relied on volunteers and public support, in the form of free or discounted space and none were yet economically self-sufficient. This poses important questions about the future for LoTs and whether they could or even should, transition towards the mainstream to make a more substantive contribution to creating a more socially equitable and environmentally sustainable economy.
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Accepted/In Press date: 31 August 2020
Published date: 2 September 2020
Keywords:
Access-based consumption, Circular economy, Library of Things, Product Service Systems, Sharing Economy, Sustainable Business Models, collaborative consumption
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 443610
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/443610
ISSN: 2071-1050
PURE UUID: 6cbfbc6d-f870-43cc-a5a2-a75e03d057bd
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Date deposited: 04 Sep 2020 16:31
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 02:46
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Author:
Ken Peattie
Author:
Adekunle Oke
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