Little Free Library

I first saw a Little Free Library a few years ago on a side street in Clintonville.  I had never seen one before and thought it was such a unique idea .

Recently, a friend brought up the Little Free Library as a great topic for this blog, and I completely agreed. Now that these libraries are on my radar, I have been seeing them everywhere!

Little Free Library began in 2009 by Todd Bol in Wisconsin. As a tribute to his mother, he built a little library and put it on a post in his front yard with a sign that read “Free Books.” His neighbors loved the idea so much that he began building more little libraries and giving them away for free. From there the idea took off!

The mission of the Little Free Library reads: “To promote literacy and the love of reading by building free book exchanges worldwide and to build a sense of community as we share skills, creativity and wisdom across generations.

The goal: “To build 2,510 Little Free Libraries – as many as Andrew Carnegie – and keep going.”

As of January 2015 there were approximately 25,000 Little Free Libraries registered online. I’d say they have well surpassed their goal!

Have you seen any of these popping up in your neighborhood? If not, you can follow this link to find the closest Little Free Library in your part of the city. When you find a Little Free Library, feel to take home a book to read with your little one or drop off a book that your child has out grown. There are no set check out or deposit procedures to follow with the books. Simple kindness and respect for other readers have kept to project running and stocked with books for the last several years.

It looks like Clintonville has the most of these Little Free Libraries when compared to the rest of the neighborhoods in Columbus. I might need to buy one to continue adding to the number of libraries and promoting literacy in my neighborhood!

Happy Hunting!