Building Your Tool Kit 

We often speak metaphorically about the need for building our professional tool kit, making sure we have the skills and knowledge needed to be successful school librarians. But I have found that having a literal tool kit is also incredibly valuable in my school library. 

A recent Bluesky conversation about tape measures brought out my inner tool geek. It also got me thinking about how many school librarians tend to be hands-on folks who aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty.

But it occurred to me that some school librarians may not have the same hands-on experience with tools and construction I’ve had. So I figured I’d share some of my hard-earned tool tips for a few items you might want to keep around for those times when you need a job done that’s too small or too immediate for a work order.

Some Times You Gotta DIY

The custodial and maintenance staff at my school ROCKS. They do great work. They also have a work order log that’s never less than 20 items deep, so they are not always able to get to stuff for the school library right away. And there are plenty of tasks that feel too small for work orders. 

As an avid DIY-er, a multi-decade theater stage manager, and the husband of a professional contractor, I love tools. I’ve tried out all kinds over several decades of set building, home maintenance, and assistance on contracting jobs. 

So I’m not shy about skipping the work order and just taking care of things myself. And most of what I do around the library is extremely low-skill. If I can do it, so can you! 

Individual Tools

There are lots of pre-made tool kits you can pick up for fairly cheap. Of course, the tools they come with are pretty cheap. But they do come with their own cases and are fairly compact. 

While I have a $20 pre-made kit, I’ve supplemented or replaced almost all of the following pieces from it. I would have been better off just buying the individual pieces, as I reach for these much more often than the ones in the cheap-o kit. 

Tape Measures

The second most-used tool in my school library tool kit is my tape measure. It is astounding how many things I need to know the dimensions of! From books and individual shelves to tables, chairs, and desks, from student projects to artwork, I am constantly reaching for a tape measure. 

I cannot recommend enough the Komelon Self-Lock line of tape measures. They are the only tape measures I’ve ever found that work in a logical way. When you pull the tape out, it stays in place until you push the retract button. It’s simple, but it’s brilliant. 

Komelon makes tapes in 12, 16, 25, and 30 foot lengths. They’re affordably priced and available from various retailers. My wife and I own at least a dozen in various lengths, both for our home use and our professional use. 

Screwdrivers

The third most-used tool in my school kit is my ratcheting multi-bit screwdriver. 

Screwdrivers are pretty straight-forward tools. The screws they drive come in a few different heads, and my library seems to have some of each: slotted (straight line), Phillips (cross shaped), hexagonal, and Torx (star-shaped). So I prefer a multi-bit screwdriver. This allows me to switch out the head to fit whatever job is in front of me. 

It’s easy to find a multi-bit screwdriver that stores bits in the handle. For added utility, I like a ratcheting screwdriver. Once set in place, these can be operated with one hand more easily than a traditional screwdriver. Ratcheting screwdrivers make hand-driving screws a lot faster and easier. 

There is a specific style of ratcheting screwdriver called a “double drive” or a “speed drive” that I absolutely LOVE. Most ratcheting screwdrivers turn the screw when you rotate your wrist clockwise, then require you to rotate your wrist counterclockwise to reset the ratchet for more turning. The double drive has a grip ring over the handle that functions as a second ratcheting mechanism. This basically doubles the number of head turns you get for each hand rotation. This lets you insert or remove screws incredibly quickly. 

My preferred double drive screwdriver used to only be available from Lowes as a store brand for about $12. As of this writing, Lowes seems to have changed the product and pricing. But if you can get your hands on one, it’s worth it. This set includes a smaller and a full-sized pair of my most-beloved version of this tool, plus a few other geegaws, though it’s outrageously priced. This one is the one I have at school, and which I gave to all of my relatives a few holidays back when they were $10 each. 

Hammer

If you don’t have a hammer in your tool kit, what are you even doing? I say this somewhat facetiously, as I have been known to use shoes, cordless drills, pry bars, hunks of wood, and books as stand-in hammers. 

But nothing beats having an actual tool built specifically to hit things when you need to hit things. 

Hammers come in a variety of shapes and sizes, tailored to different functions. Generally, I find having a small eight ounce claw hammer sufficient for most school library needs. But if you have the space, a regular sized sixteen ounce hammer will rarely do you wrong, except in those rare instances where you’re working in a tightly-enclosed space and a regular hammer just won’t fit. 

Pro Tip: Although they sell “compact” hammers, hammers get their banging power from the length of the handle. Something like this $10 set gives you a nice small hammer as well as a mini-mallet, which is great for hitting things you don’t want to mar with a metal head. (But do NOT drive nails with the plastic mallet, as they show in one of their promo pictures! That’s a great way to destroy your mallet.)

Pliers

Pliers are great for gripping things. The most common types are needle nose, slip joint, and linesman. Each of these types has a particular feature that makes it handy. 

It’s good to keep two pairs of pliers on hand in case, for instance, you need to grip one end of a bolt while turning a nut on the other end.

I keep a set of needlenose pliers and a set of basic slip jaw pliers in my school library, and both have come in very handy. But if I had a set of linesman pliers instead of the slip jaws, I wouldn’t be too upset. 

Needlenose pliers are great for gripping tiny things, or for fitting into small spaces. They often also include a wire cutter section near the back of the jaw.

Slip joint or adjustable pliers are a good, all-around plier. The most common and least expensive version allows you to switch between narrow and wide settings. Narrow lets you clamp the jaws completely closed when you squeeze the handles. The wide setting often won’t let you close the jaws completely when you squeeze the handles – this is for grabbing larger or thicker items securely. 

Linesman pliers are often used by electricians. The jaws start out like narrow pliers – two flat plates that clamp together when you squeeze the handles. But just behind those flat plates are wire cutting blades. So with one pair of pliers, you can cut as well as crimp or grip. 

Razors

Although it’s further down on this particular list, this is the single most-used item in my school tool kit. I never realized how many things needed cutting or trimming in a library! 

I don’t have a particular brand I prefer, but there is definitely a style I like. It’s a full-handle utility knife with replaceable blades. Most utility knives in this style have a storage space for several replacement blades inside the handle. 

With the push of a button and a tug on the blade, a dulled blade can be pulled out and reversed, or replaced with a fresh blade.  I use my razor to trim plastic burrs off fittings, whittle down wood bits that are causing problems, trim away hair that’s tangled in wheels, and cut paper, cardboard, and tape. 

I also keep a 50 pack of replacement blades in the drawer; it is amazing how quickly a blade gets dulled.

Not-Everyday Items

There are a couple things you probably won’t use on a regular basis, but when you need them, they’re pretty handy to have. And they’re not crazy-expensive, not do they take up too much space.

Here are a few I keep to hand in my school library. 

Torpedo Level

The human brain is an amazing machine whose visual perceptions are easily fooled. I would need a lot of digits to count how many times I’ve tried to draw a line or hang up an item that I would swear was level, only to step back and realize it looks like a drunkard was involved in the plotting.

I keep a torpedo level at school. This is a nine inch long device with three bubble vials contained in its length. The center vial is for measuring horizontal level. On one end is a vial for measuring vertical level. The third vial is for measuring 45 degree angles. 

A torpedo level is handy for checking the overall level-ness of a project. Mine has a magnet, so I can stick it to metal shelves easily. Lots of pre-made kits come with levels. They’re almost always made of plastic, which means they are more likely to break or warp. A warped level can go “out of true”, meaning it won’t give you an accurate level reading.

I try to buy Empire levels whenever I can. They’re very high-quality, usually featuring aluminum frames. They’re also more expensive than basic levels. Personally, I’d rather pay a bit more up front and know that my level is going to remain true for the life of its use. 

Awl

An awl is meant to poke holes in things. They are basically sharply pointed pieces of metal with a handle attached. They’re great for scratching marks on surfaces or creating pilot holes. In fact, I just used mine to tap some pilot holes into the footwell of my wooden desk so I could drive a couple screws to mount a power strip. 

There’s not a lot to know about awls. They usually have a plastic handle or a wood handle with a metal handle cap so you can whack the end with a hammer. I avoid all-wood handles – they’re too easy to crush out of shape with a hammer tap.

Laser Level

I’m cheating a little here, as a laser level requires batteries. My wife’s construction laser level runs hundreds of dollars. But there are plenty of “good enough” self-leveling laser levels that are quite affordable. 

The benefit of a laser level is that you can project a line across an entire wall. This is great if you’re trying to set one large thing or a bunch of smaller things in a straight line. 

You might need a tripod to get the laser level up high enough or at the correct angle to project the line you want. But there are actually some $30 laser level kits online that come with tripods. I wouldn’t build a house with them, but for hanging student art? Definitely. 

What’s in YOUR kit?

While these are my most frequently-used tools at school, I’m sure you have something you rely on that I didn’t list here. Or maybe you have a particular style or brand of tool that you swear by. Please be sure to drop a comment and let us all know what we should add to our kits!