by Ellen Wanamaker

Do you have a bicycle lingering in your garage with a flat tire or a dangling chain? A piece of jewelry missing a clasp? A jacket that needs mending? Perhaps your espresso maker is making weird noises? Possibly you’ve got a rototiller that isn’t tilling? A beloved old laptop with a stuck DVD drive? You get the picture. Many of us have things at home that need repair, and this weekend you can drop in to a free Repair Café at the library to get help from local volunteers.

The Repair Café will be held at Ames Public Library on Saturday, April 22^nd from 10 am to 4 pm, both inside and outside the building. Volunteers with a variety of skills will help repair items at no charge, and will also teach basic maintenance. If volunteers are unable to repair your item, or parts are required, they'll help you find a local repair shop. If you have replacement parts, you can bring them.

You can bring the following to the Repair Café: clothing; jewelry and accessories; electronics; home and kitchen appliances; bicycles; small motors; gardening tools and implements.

For this Repair Café there will also be a free seed giveaway. Flower and vegetable seeds from Iowa State University Extension and Outreach will be available while supplies last. There will also be native tree seedlings from the City of Ames.

The Repair Café aims to reduce waste, share tools and resources, and help build self-reliance skills in our community. This program is presented in partnership with Ames Public Library, City of Ames Resource Recovery, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, and Wheatsfield Co-op. The program is supported by the Ames Public Library Friends Foundation and Fareway. If you have any questions or would like to volunteer, please e-mail AmesRepairCafe@gmail.com.

While you’re at the library, remember that we have many books on home and garden projects, small motor repair, and other relevant skills. Many of these are in the nonfiction 600s. A sampling of the titles includes “Black & Decker Essential Home Skills Handbook,” “Home Ec for Everyone: Practical Life Skills in 118 Projects,” “Home Skills: Master Your Domain with Practical Solutions to Everyday Challenges,” and “How to Split Wood, Shuck an Oyster, and Master Other Simple Pleasures.”