Prague, May 2 (CTK) – The Goethe Institute in Prague offers the loaning of various items such as a a sewing machine, a telescope, a tent, a disco ball or an electric drill in the “library of things” it opened on Tuesday as the first service of its kind in the country, the Institute’s programme director Jakob Racek has told media.
He said the visitors only need to buy a “reader’s card” to be loaned the items they need.
“Now and then, we unnecessarily buy an expensive thing that we eventually use once a year,” Racek said.
The project wants to support the sharing of things by the city residents as a practical, cheap and environmental-friendly alternative to buying things, Racek said.
“Do we really need to own a drill or an ice-cream maker?” he asked.
The new “library” is a part of Shared Cities: Creative Momentum, a platform associating 11 partners in six Central European countries with the aim to improve the quality of life in European cities.
The platform plans to stage 150 events in Belgrade, Berlin, Bratislava, Budapest, Katowice, Prague and Warsaw until 2020, offering new ways of urban planning with local residents’ participation.
In the Czech Republic, the platform’s partners are Goethe Institute, the Czech Centres falling under the Foreign Ministry, and the reSITE NGO.
