Leila

Libraries of Things are physical and digital spaces where people can borrow and share objects that are used only occasionally: from sports equipment to DIY tools, from leisure items to objects used in everyday life. The model was developed from the awareness that many goods are typically purchased and individually owned even though they are used only for a limited period or just a few times throughout their lifetime. Sharing, by contrast, makes it possible to increase product utilisation and reduce unnecessary purchases, thereby decreasing waste generation and the related environmental impact associated with their production and disposal. A striking example is the electric drill, which is estimated to be used for an average of just 13 minutes over its entire lifetime.

Today, the system developed by Leila combines a network of physical and digital libraries with an IT platform that facilitates the management of loans, reservations, and returns, including through the use of smart lockers. Sharing thus becomes not only an alternative way of accessing goods, but also a tool for promoting greater awareness of resource use and for building more sustainable communities. Another distinctive feature of Leila’s approach is the ability to measure the social, economic, and environmental impacts generated through the use of the platform. The system is designed to monitor a range of indicators, including users’ financial savings, the space freed up in homes, water savings, and waste reduction.

Leila offers a technological and organisational model aimed at citizens, companies, public administrations, universities, and other public and private stakeholders. At the core of the offering is a digital platform that enables the management of sharing services, complemented by physical tools and support services. The business model includes subscriptions, aimed at both individual users and companies and public administrations; service fees related to management software, consulting, and training; and strategic partnerships with public bodies and private-sector organisations.

The combination of these different revenue streams is designed to build an economically sustainable, adaptable, and scalable model driven by technology and innovation. The platform therefore acts as an enabling infrastructure for organisations and territories seeking to introduce sharing services without having to independently develop the underlying technology, processes, and management systems. Leila’s experience also makes it possible to integrate community building, educational programme design, applied research, and service management expertise into the technological component, placing accessibility and participation at the centre of the model.

With the support of Fondazione Social Venture Giordano Dell’Amore, Leila aims to consolidate its business model and accelerate its expansion, developing new platform functionalities and expanding the network of participating organisations and territories. Its ambition is to transform object sharing from a local and innovative experience into a structural component of new sustainable consumption models, putting technology, communities, and the circular economy at the service of more efficient resource use. In this process, the Library of Things becomes not simply a place where people can borrow an item, but a model through which to rethink the relationship between ownership, access, and use, while simultaneously generating benefits for people, communities, and the environment.