This design research report was prepared for the Municipality of Amsterdam, examining how pricing structure and communication shape participation in the city's Library of Things (Spullenbibliotheek) — a shared-ownership scheme that lets residents borrow everyday tools and equipment, like drills, pressure washers, or a karaoke set, instead of buying them outright.
What the report covers
The research looks at how the Library of Things prices its items — comparing a standard rate against a discounted member rate available through a monthly subscription or the city's Stadspas — and how that pricing is communicated to residents. The goal was to understand what helps people move from curiosity to actually borrowing an item, and what still gets in the way.
Why it matters
Shared-ownership models like this one depend on people trusting the system enough to use it regularly. Getting the pricing structure and the way it's explained right is a small design decision with a real effect on whether a library of things becomes part of how a neighbourhood actually behaves, or stays a nice idea that few people use.
This is the one project in this portfolio produced for and published by an external organisation, so the complete report lives on the Municipality of Amsterdam's own research platform rather than reproduced here in full. The button below links directly to it.
