FAQ

Fill out the Request Form for the equipment you would like to use.

Never used Chicago Sonic Commons before? No problem. Take a look at the Inventory, find an available piece of equipment you would like to use, and click on the Request Form for that equipment. The form will ask you if you've used CSC before, click no. When we process your equipment request, we'll send you some info and you'll be good to go!

NOTE: It's always good to read over the About, Requests & Exchanges, and Designations pages to get an idea of how things work before requesting equipment.


No. The equipment in CSC's inventory is always with the people using it, always in circulation. 

When you request to use a piece of equipment, you are put in contact with the person who currently has it in order to coordinate an exchange. Once you receive that equipment and have had it for the amount of time you requested to use it (usually between one week and one month), other people can start requesting to use it. Until someone else requests it, it stays with you for you to use, never sitting lonely in a warehouse.


Fill out the Storage Host Return Form.

Every piece of CSC equipment has a Storage Host. A Stroage Host is a person who agrees to store a piece of CSC equipment if the person using it can't take care of it anymore. This is usually either the person who originally designated the equipment, a CSC Custodian, or someone who has let CSC know they have access to storage space if needed. 

You will be put in contact with the Storage Host for you to arrange an exchange of the equipment. Once you've exchanged the equipment, fill out its exchange form and you'll be good to go!


You can Designate equipment as part of CSC by completing the Designation Form for that equipment. 

Once you complete the Designation Form, we will send you a Designation Package with a QR code sticker and a *shiny*silver*sharpie*. You put the sticker on the equipment, write the equipment's new call number on the equipment, and it is part of Chicago Sonic Commons! We will reach out to you once the equipment is requested by another person, you can exchange it, and it will be in circulation!


The CSC custodians keep CSC running.

CSC custodians review all Designation, Request, and Exchange forms, keep track of who has what in the Inventory, put people in touch with each other, and a bunch of other fun stuff. Current custodians are Seamus Carey and Paige Naylor.


Yay! 

Reach out to us at chicagosoniccommons@gmail.org to get involved.


CSC is available to use only in Cook County.

For the sake of ensuring all equipment is more easily exchangeable between people using CSC, we try to make sure equipment is only being used by people living in Cook County.


Designating seemed like a good word for it.

We considered a bunch of other words for the process and none of them seemed right. This one worked. For more info on how CSC Designation works, visit the Designations page.


The CSC Custodians love cats.

Just click on the cat gif and it will take you to the Inventory. 


Requests are processed by CSC Custodians within 24 hours, usually in the morning. 

Once you are put into contact with the person who currently has the equipment you've requested, it will be up to the two of you to decide on a time to exchange it.


You can always request to use equipment you have previously designated.

Designating equipment does not mean you can't use it anymore. You will always be able to request it in the same way anyone else using Chicago Sonic Commons can. 

However, once equipment is Designated as part of the CSC Inventory, it becomes part of a commons of collectively maintained, non-owned equipment. For this reason, returning the equipment back in to your sole possession is not possible. Chicago Sonic Commons is an experiment in non-ownership, attempting to operate in a system outside of standards of property and ownership. By filling out the sharing agreement in the Designation form, you agree to assist in the constant circulation of that equipment.