Yves here. We heart libraries and librarians! But this post is a bit thin on how to do your own little free library. You need permission of the box is not your property. How do you persuade shop owners and government players like parks to participate? How big a sharing box is good? What kind of signage helps?
Any readers with direct involvement in this project, please pipe up!
By Damon Orion is a writer, journalist, musician, artist, and teacher in Santa Cruz, California. His work has appeared in Revolver, Guitar World, Spirituality + Health, Classic Rock, High Times, and other publications. Read more of his work at DamonOrion.com. Produced by Local Peace Economy
You’ve seen them in front of houses and public spaces like food stores, parks, schoolyards, and coffee shops; small, birdhouse-like cases that anyone can take a book from or leave a book in for others to enjoy.
These miniature libraries might have an unimposing appearance but are a powerful means of boosting literacy rates, combating book bans, and promoting social justice. They are also referred to as “mini-town squares.”
While anyone can create and curate public bookcases, the St. Paul, Minnesota-based nonprofit group Little Free Library (LFL) is largely responsible for their ubiquity. There are more than 180,000 registered LFL book-sharing boxes worldwide. They can be found in all 50 U.S. states and 121 countries across every continent, making them the “world’s largest book-sharing network.” In collaboration with schools, businesses, civic establishments, and public libraries, LFL has facilitated the sharing of more than 400 million books since 2009.
One of LFL’s primary motivations is to create a more literate populace. Their motto is, “Take a book, share a book.” The importance of that objective cannot be overstated: More than half the adults in America have literacy skills below the sixth-grade level, and 67 percent of students in the U.S. enter the fourth grade with reading skills that are below proficient levels, drastically reducing their chances of graduating from high school, according to studies.
Margret Aldrich, LFL’s director of communications and the author of The Little Free Library Book, points out that access to reading materials is a key predictor of an individual’s success in school and throughout life. For example, in the United States, a child from a home with as few as 25 books will complete two more years of school than a child with no books at home, according to a March 2023 report, “Home Libraries,” by Scholastic.
A 2001 study by childhood and literacy education professor Susan Neuman determined that some impoverished areas of the U.S. have only one age-appropriate book per 300 children. To mitigate the lack of book access among 60 percent of children in low-income families, LFL works to “make sure Little Free Libraries are getting established in communities that really need access to books. Maybe there’s no public library; maybe there’s no access point for books when school is out [in these communities],” Aldrich explains.
To fight inadequate book access and substandard literacy levels among Indigenous communities in the United States and Canada, LFL facilitates the installation of miniature libraries in areas with large Indigenous populations through its Indigenous Library program. Little Free Libraries have also been established in Brazilian slums, South Sudanese villages, a Ugandan refugee camp, and other regions where books are scarce, according to the blog Little Observationist.
LFL’s past efforts have included the Good Global Neighbors program, through which American students constructed book-sharing boxes and sent them to countries like Africa and India, and the Friends Through the Years program, which brought young and old people together to read and tell stories to each other.
Promoting Equality
LFL’s Read in Color program helps distribute books that promote social justice and racial equality and represent marginalized groups such as BIPOC and LGBTQ+. According to Aldrich, “This can be really important, both for folks who see themselves in the pages and for folks who can learn about a different perspective.”
Aldrich recounts a story she heard from the father of a six-year-old girl who took the book Ada Twist, Scientist home from a Little Free Library. “On the cover was a girl who was Black like her and had puffy hair like hers. She said, ‘Daddy, this girl looks just like me!’” The girl then began “dressing up like a scientist at home and playing scientist. That kind of impact could last a lifetime.”
The Read in Color program stands in opposition to U.S. book bans, nearly half of which targeted BIPOC and LGBTQ+-themed books in 2023. Eighty-seven percent of polled LFL stewards have sharedbanned books, thereby “protecting access to banned and challenged books,” states the organization’s website. Little Free Library also helps readers access banned books through projects and initiatives such as the Unbanned Book Club, the Banned Wagon, and the Banned Books Week Coalition.
“We are proud to take a stand against book bans,” Aldrich states. “Our mission is to expand access to books. That’s really at the heart of everything we do, so book bans go against our core values, especially when they overwhelmingly target Black authors, LGBTQ+ authors, and others from marginalized communities.”
The History of LFL
The late Todd Bol built the first Little Free Library in 2009 to honor the memory of his mother, a schoolteacher and book lover. Constructing and painting the box to look like a miniature schoolhouse, he placed his creation in front of his home in Hudson, Wisconsin. The idea started to catch on when Bol and his friend Rick Brooks began installing more of these receptacles in different parts of Wisconsin and other Midwestern United States cities like Chicago and Minneapolis.
In 2012, LFL became an incorporated nonprofit. During the same year, Bol met his goal of creating 2,510 Little Free Libraries, breaking the record philanthropist Andrew Carnegie previously set by establishing2,509 libraries worldwide.
As this idea went viral, Bol began shipping homemade book boxes to regions such as Australia, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. By late 2016, 50,000 registered Little Free Libraries could be found throughout 85countries worldwide.
In late 2018, soon after LFL established its 75,000th library, Bol died of pancreatic cancer. A quote from his final days reads, “I really believe in a Little Free Library on every block and a book in every hand. I believe people can fix their neighborhoods, fix their communities, develop systems of sharing, learn from each other, and see that they have a better place on this planet to live.”
Outside the Box
Stewards (LFL’s name for the curators of book-sharing boxes) sometimes stylize their little libraries in imaginative ways. This includes bookcases modeled after houses, cabins, trees, telephone booths, Victorian mansions, scenes from books, rocket ships, a refrigerator, a robot, and a life-sized replica of a TARDIS from the “Doctor Who” television series.
At a 2013 TEDx event, LFL’s founder described a little library in Arkansas surrounded by an herb garden. Visitors could take a cookbook from the box and snip herbs from the garden. “[The steward] tells me he’s constantly getting food in the morning: quiches and so on that are left for him,” Bol said.
Besides bringing art to streets and neighborhoods, LFL’s efforts have inspired groups and individuals to create boxes for sharing items like seeds, knitting materials, sleds, and toy cars. Church-supported Blessing Boxes provide access to food, clothing, toiletries, baby care materials, and other essentials. These “miniature wooden food pantries” conform to the principles of mutual aid and are “symbols of hope and solidarity,” according to the digital news magazine the Helm.
Making Connections
As Aldrich notes, LFL also helps build community. She recalls the moment she and her husband finished installing a little library in front of their Minneapolis home. “Within three minutes of getting it in the ground, neighbors I’d never spoken with before were crossing the street to check it out and talk with us.”
She adds that according to LFL’s annual surveys, 72 percent of stewards meet more neighbors because of their little libraries, and 98 percent feel that their neighborhood is a friendlier place because of these book-sharing boxes.
Aldrich also says many LFL stewards enjoy being part of something larger than themselves. “This network is almost 200,000 Little Free Libraries strong all over the world, so [stewards] are part of this universal love for reading and bringing people together.”
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There a lots of them where I live. My best find so far is ‘scoundrel time’ by Lillian Hellman. Fun to check out while moving about in the neighborhoods.
I’ve seen these around my hometown, which has a taxpayer funded public library with 21 branches and a mobile system. The LFLs seem to be stocked with random selections of about 20 books that don’t look very good after a few months sitting outside. Calling these things “libraries” is kind of a stretch. Perhaps it’s different in a town without a library.
My city has libraries and LFLs. The only damage I’ve seen was vandalism to the very well made LFL inside a gated park in a gated community near me, which I access on dog walks through a hole in a fence between a stip mall and the community that is “maintained” by rich teenagers sneaking out to go to Starbucks or the wings place.
Plenty of LFL, and tiny free libraries are just a shelf in a business. 90% airport books about espionage and romance but you do see some interesting options.
I like your post. Just that the “…rich teenagers sneaking off to Starbucks ..,” makes me thankful for being born in the last year of the Eisenhower Administration. Gently used World Book Encyclopedias, National Geographics, Readers Digest Condensed Books and Playboy collections were always available for the taking, especially if the barber shop was getting rid of them.
In Switzerland we have free libraries everywhere, parks, train stations, etc. The closest one for me was a phone booth that was repurpose. Books are organized by language and they are usually kept by neighbor associations.
https://www.bzbasel.ch/basel/lesen-basler-buecherschraenke-bieten-der-literatur-ganz-besondere-nistplaetze-ld.2276899
In Austria they use old British phone booths
And they have a sense of humour. Milton Friedman is classified, appropriately, as children’s literature
We have one, and it has been a joy. Literacy is not a problem in our (relatively affluent) neighborhood as far as I can tell, but people love to check it out, and the books have rotated frequently with little effort on our end.
Back when I published a print community paper, I used to do one of these in my front yard for my cast-off magazines and books. It was set up next to my print rack.
These sorts of things are all over my university city—official city ones, business ones, private residences across different types of neighborhoods. It’s a low-cost project that city leadership has encouraged in a town that is not often encouraging to little projects.
(2nd announcement: new name, formerly posting as 430MLK)
My husband and I floated the idea of a little free library to our condo board, to be put in a common area – we were so excited about doing it and in our heavily Spanish-speaking community outside of DC, with lots of little kids who may not have many books at home, we were poised to buy and stock with many books in Spanish but alas, the condo board, who rejects all ideas except anything to do with lawn care and the board president’s fixation on perfectly trimmed hedges, said no. Not to digress too much, but condo boards, in my experience and others, are dangerous amateurs whose power over their little fiefdom seems to go to their head. When we move, hope soon, if one is not in our neighborhood, we will try again.
Condo boards or tightly run HOA, on that topic. There is light but comical episode of the X-Files where the two agents pose as husband and wife. It’s possible I have the episode on disc but my collection only runs from seasons 1 to 4. Fiction in a television episode, and highly accurate as it turns out! Found it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arcadia_(The_X-Files)
Back to the main topic, I’ve seen one of these small box free standing library or kiosk, on a nearby walking trail. Each time I pass I intend to add a book to the collection…but would be a book I’m happy to part with.
Nice that you add to the little library – cool idea to have it on a walking trail. Can’t wait to watch that X-files episode – thanks so much. I need that right now LOL.
I think your mistake was to seek permission at all. I would have assumed the board would oppose, so gone forth and installed it, done a flyer blitz, gone door to door, put up posters, get everyone to love it and use it (especially the kids), and if the board objected at the next meeting they can face the residents and explain why.
For many years in NYC many apartment buildings with laundry rooms have set up a bookcase or two to facilitate neighbor book exchanges. My building has 2 good sized bookcases, and the replacement rate is fairly high (the building has 200+ apartments). The range of books, fiction and non-fiction is broad.
As has been pointed out, the li’l libraries tend to be located in neighborhoods that have fine public libraries–well staffed, with plenty of services and programs for its’ denizens. Not sure what the point is having a box filled with people’s discarded books on every other block.
The point is to circulate books.
Meanwhile my actual library is getting rid of materials on theory that those that don’t get checked out enough are taking up expensive (???) shelf space. Or something.
These wind up at the system’s used book store where at one dollar for paper backs they are practically free.
In my neighborhood we have some of these boxes but they tend to be stocked with fiction and light reading and self help books and the like. I don’t recall seeing children’s books at all and the children’s section at our main library is the one section that seems to be thriving as it always has. Once literacy is established our internet age offers a vast array of reading materials including the ultimate free library of Project Gutenberg where the world’s great literature is offered in ebook format that can even be read on a smartphone (or be read to you by the phone’s robot reader).
As for “banned” books, the left likes to make a big thing of this as part of the Hitler meme but I truly question whether this is any more than a tactic. Indeed these days there’s a lot more of a censorship impulse on the left than on the right. Given the internet it is now hard to ban anything.
About libraries getting rid of material. Weeding (that’s the actual term used for this) is generally only done to make room for new material. At my small rural public library lack of shelf space is an ongoing issue. Lack of circulation is certainly one of the criteria used to decide what is discarded, but not the most important one. Other considerations are condition of the item, status of the item (e.g., classic works of literature are likely to be kept regardless of their circulation), duplication of titles (an item is more likely to be discarded if another copy exists elsewhere within the system), and—with nonfiction—whether or not there are similar/better books on the shelf containing the same information.
For reasons I don’t understand, our library doesn’t sell discarded items. They are either donated to Better World Books or put in the recycling bin.
On a tangential note, my favorite character of Walter Mosely’s, who is my favorite mystery writer, is Paris Minton, who stocks his used bookstore in Watts primarily with discards from the LA Public Library.
Well at my library they took out some of the stacks and have partially empty shelves in some of the others. I’m talking about the nonfiction area which is mostly what I read. It seems to be the attitude is that much of this material is available on the web (which is true).
Meanwhile the music cds were eliminated in favor of loanable video games. So the attitude also seems to be that they are desperate to keep young people and teens interested in the library whereas their true constituency has been the older cohort who are spending a lot less time there (I know I am).
To me a library is about the contents and not the building which can indeed be a box on the side of the road. The world has changed but changing our libraries too much can make their problems worse.
Available ” on the web” till the web is shut down or go-darked one way or another. I wonder how many newish and youngerish librarians are part of the Cyberbarian Digigoth anti print-on-paper movement.
Read some local school board minutes, especially but not necessarily from redder states. Look for news stories about boards violating open meetings policy.
I’m in the middle of assembling mine and am going to use it for art and art-related books. There are other artists on the street and I may ask them if they want to share the space. It’s been interesting to figure out a compelling (hopefully) design and deciding exactly how it should be used.
According to Truman Capote he and Tom Wolfe had a little game of theirs: Both were touring the country for public readings and on that occasion visiting the public library of every town and city they were invited to. The goal was for each to leave his mark by borrowing as many books first as possible and make that known to the other one through filling in the list of those who have borrowed the book. Another part was, I think, counting who had more of his own books in public libraries.
p.s. This is not entirely on-topic but since it´s a long conversation about destroying books and library policy in Ukrainian libraries:
A horrible but recommended interview with Oleksandra Koval director of the Ukrainian Book Institute about how to rid Ukrainian libraries off Russian literature. Really nice…She wanted to destroy 100 milion Russian items. I don´t know the number of the Third Reich, but 100 million sounds ambitious. Even for her hatred.
by Intefax Ukraine, May 23, 2022
“Director of UIC Koval: Books are weapons, either defensive or offensive”
https://archive.is/DQ1wR
LFLs remind me of the Thai spirt houses (shrines).
Our chapter made one and unveiled it last summer/fall at our HQ. It is in a rural area. We are having a problem with people taking books out but they never seem to get put in(except from us). Like the book supply goes in one direction only. It is explained on it to “take one, leave one” but they don’t get left. Only taken. Not sure how long we can keep supplying it.
I have a free library that I curate on Substack, and that I publish to a couple times each week. It has always been serial publishing, one chapter, or about 1 hour’s worth of reading at a time, going on now for a year. Of course most people are not reading along with my uploads, so you can read as many chapters as you want, and as fast as you wish. The premise is that world collaboration comes from mutual understanding of our different cultures.
Therefore it is not about current events, which I see as always casting blame according to the writer’s cultural and ideological built-in bias. Cultural views are passed through history, so ancient and pre-modern history are the main subjects. Eurasia is our western root. Also, there is much writing on ethnogenesis, (how are we different).
I came upon a prolific anthropologist and geographical-historian who was born and worked in the Soviet Union. He is Lev Nikolayevisch Gumilev. He never wrote about Marx nor communism, and they are absent from his works. He is suppressed in America, I say this because almost none of his 30 books are translated into English. (I don’t know why, because he wrote nothing about the cold war or geopolitics.)
I TRANSLATED ABOUT 1 1/2 MILLION WORDS OF HIS WRITING FROM THE RUSSIAN.
My library is the only place to find them. I did that over a period of several years before I ever thought of publishing, just because he was so fascinating. Soon I will start uploading his greatest work, “Ancient RUS and the Great Steppe”. It is the complete history of Russia with the Mongol nations.
In the mean time I have been publishing on China, (translated), on poverty, and on anti-Semitism. (However I don’t cover GAZA, but look at the roots of Zionism.)
I believe the site is very organized, and book chapters are all contained in each book Master Index. This year I will have over 2 million words. Please take a look, I am sure you will find something of interest. (Attention: these are book, not short articles.)
library4conciliation.substack.com
I’m a librarian. I hesitated to post here, as I don’t want to be too grinchy, but consider this post by Jessamyn West and Jane Schmidt and Jordan Hale’s “Little Free Libraries®:Interrogating the impact of the branded book exchange”.