Little Libraries

There is what looks like a small model house on a pole next to a gas station near us, that at first glance looks like a rather elaborate mailbox.

Get a little closer, though, and you can see a window in the side showing it is full of books. It is a ‘Little Library’, and is one of the most adorable things I have seen since I came to the US.

The concept is simple – it is full of books, and anybody can go up to get a new book, provided they replace it with one of their own. As per the Little Free Library website, it is a “‘take a book, return a book’ free book exchange”.

Yup, there is a website. This isn’t an isolated library, there are mini libraries all across America, and in fact all across the world. “As of June 2016, there are over 40,000 registered Little Free Library book exchanges in all 50 U.S. states and over 70 countries around the world.”

The Little Free Library organisation has its roots in Wisconsin, starting a few years ago when a guy called Todd Bol built a model of a one room schoolhouse as a tribute to his mother – a teacher and keen reader. He filled it with books and put in his front yard, then due to its popularity built more and gave them away. Thus a movement was born.

In a world where large libraries can struggle, due to Kindles, computer games and the waning popularity of paper publications, there is something wonderful about these little collections of books – available for all – dotted around the country (and world).

I thoroughly recommend having a look at the Little Free Library website which has plenty of information on the organization, including their history, and some examples of other libraries.