"Every time I walk into the house, I realize how bad my front yard is," the veteran Democratic state representative said. "My wife says I should just pour concrete on it and paint it green, but it hasn't gone that far."

As he eyed leaf blowers and gardening tools hanging nearby, Roebuck completed the forms and paid $20 to join the West Philly Tool Library, a nonprofit operated by community residents that lends members tools to work in their gardens, fix up their houses, even repair their bicycles.

Saturday was the grand opening, and 150 people from the neighborhood and elsewhere in the city passed through the first floor of a rowhouse at 4620 Woodland Ave. to sample food donated by the University of the Sciences and look at what the tool library had to offer.

Eighteen of the visitors signed up, bringing membership to 75, said Michael Froelich, a lawyer with Community Legal Services who lives in the neighborhood and started the ball rolling for the library in spring 2007.

Froelich had seen tool libraries elsewhere in the country - there are about 20 nationwide - "and when I moved back here in 2005, I thought it would be a good idea for this neighborhood."

He distributed flyers, which is how seminarian Benjamin White, who lives across the street from the tool library, became involved.

"I rent, so I don't really need tools. But I work with my church, the Circle of Hope, to rehab houses," White said, "so there's always some sort of tool I need for that.

"I want to see the tool library succeed because I'm eventually going to buy a house, and I'll need it more than I do now," said White, who is on the steering committee and in charge of tool acquisition. "Right now, I'm excited about the idea of sharing."

Morgan Riffer doesn't have to wait.

"I'm in the middle of a home rehab, and I thought belonging to the tool library was a good idea," said Riffer, who works for a nonprofit that does research on education reform.

She bought a rowhouse in the neighborhood two years ago.

"It had a roof that had been leaking for a couple of years when I bought it," she said. "The sellers had lived there for 30 years and had done nothing. I found myself having to buy lots of tools for specific jobs, including chisels for work to replace a piece of a concrete wall."

So when she got Froelich's flyer, she volunteered to help and also became a steering-committee member.

Stacey Hendricks, facilities manager for the Rosenbach Museum and Library, is in charge of the tool library's volunteers.

"Although we opened in September, the winter months were very slow because people don't do as much on their houses," he said. "So we spent the winter building counters and racks for tools and getting ready for the rush of business in the spring and summer."

The library will be open Saturdays from 9 a.m. to noon now, "but once the weather starts getting warmer and people begin working, we'll expand the hours on Saturday and try to be open one or two evenings during the week," Froelich said.

Members may borrow as many tools as they need from one Saturday to the next.

White used the winter break to gather tools, including "the nice items that attract people here, such as a table saw and belt sander that we bought [from Home Depot] with grant money."

The tool library, a project of the Greater Philadelphia Urban Affairs Coalition, is tailored to meet the needs of its Victorian-era urban neighborhood, as well as older enclaves in other parts of the city.

"On the application form, there is a question about what tools you want to see in the library," Hendricks said. "One thing consistently on the list was a 40-foot extension ladder; it's something you might need only every two years, and it is really hard to store."

"We resisted buying one," White said, "because we couldn't figure out how people were going to move the ladder, but . . . they either strap it on the top of their cars or they walk."

Though membership is key to the solvency and success of the tool library, it has been fortunate to receive many donations, Froelich said.

Guy Laren, the West Philadelphia real estate developer, donated use of the building, which he had rehabbed but had not found a suitable tenant for, Froelich said. Larry Reese, owner of Woodland Building Supply across the street, donated wood for the shelving and countertops, and sits on the board.

Grants were received from the Fels Fund and the Sparkplug Foundation of New York, which funds start-up nonprofits. The University of the Sciences' facilities department donated tools, and donations also have been received from Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell, the Spruce Hill Neighborhood Association, and PhillyCarShare.

The tool library's potential for good was not lost on new member Roebuck, who acknowledged that this was not the first time his front yard had needed attention in the 30 years he had owned the property. But other problems with the house often have needed to be taken care of first.

"Every time you think you are almost done, something else happens," Roebuck said. "I call it my 'Gothic cathedral,' because it will never be done in my lifetime."

Tool Finder

The West Philly Tool Library is at 4620 Woodland Ave., Philadelphia. For information, call 215-833-3190 or visit www.westphillytools.org.