Do you know about Little Free Libraries? I first read about them in Writer’s Digest, and then again at a conference I went to last Friday. I was lying in bed reading WD and was so charmed by them that accidentally woke my husband by exclaiming over them. Now I want to put one up!
When I was a child, I did not have access to a library. My parents had books, scads of them, but they were just occasionally obtained odd box lots. I lusted after books. Sadly, the few books on the shelves at my grammar school were uninspiring and we were not encouraged to take them home anyway.
When I was in high school the state started a library that loaned books through the mail, and I was delighted! They printed a catalog and you sent in your card to request the books you wanted. I was always delighted to come home and find out what books had come in the mail for me.
So, what is a Little Free Library? It’s this:
(Image from http://www.littlefreelibrary.org/little-free-library-originals.html .)
Yes, you erect a little box not much bigger than a birdhouse in your yard to encourage people to take a book and return it when they are finished reading it.
The irony about my wanting one is that we live less than a block from the library. But I want so badly to go back in time and give my child self books. Perhaps I could partner with a friend of mine who is working diligently to fix up my hometown. They still don’t have a library there, at least not in the rural area where I lived.
In the meantime, I still want to put one up, because I know that some of my students have children who cannot check out books due to fines or lost materials. Perhaps if we put up a library, the gaggle of children who gather a block down to wait for the school bus (or their parents) would stop by for a book. I’d like to think so.
We’ll see if I do or not. What about you, would you consider doing this?
