A Neighborhood Treasure: Little Free Libraries
With the start of the distance-learning school year, I can’t help but reflect on all of the things our family is missing about being in “real” school this fall. My youngest daughter, a brand-new first-grader, is missing weekly trips to visit the school library with her class. She loves to discover and bring home new books for bedtime reading.
We’re fortunate though: several of Little Free Library boxes are scattered around our neighborhood, always well-stocked, always ready for a curious reader to browse. These little book boxes are beloved and visited often!
Little Free Library began in 2009 in Wisconsin. A gentleman there built a tiny model of a one-room schoolhouse and stuffed it with books. A little over 10 years later, there are over 90,000 book exchanges that are registered/branded as Little Free Libraries!
In COVID times, Little Free Library is a way to share your love of reading with your neighbors! You can build your own Little Free Library in a weekend; you can even purchase a DIY kit from the Little Free Library website, or search online for inspiration. Some of my favorites? A Little Free Library with a green roof, one that is custom-built and painted to match the house it sits in front of, or one with a built-in bench—you don’t have to wait until you’re home to dig into your new novel! Most Little Free Libraries have at least two shelves—one for adult titles and one for children’s titles. And they all operate with an unofficial “leave a book, take a book” agreement.
Keep an eye open for a Little Free Library in your neighborhood—and if you don’t see one, well, that’s all the more reason to build your own!