reported by Cindy Brown

According to Wikipedia, “Little Free Library is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that promotes neighborhood book exchanges, usually in the form of a public bookcase. More than 90,000 public book exchanges are registered with the organization and branded as Little Free Libraries. Through Little Free Libraries, present in 91 countries, millions of books are exchanged each year, with the aim of increasing access to books for readers of all ages and backgrounds. The Little Free Library nonprofit organization is based in Hudson, Wisconsin, United States.

“The first Little Free Library was built in 2009 by the late Todd Bol in Hudson, Wisconsin. Bol mounted a wooden container, designed to look like a one-room schoolhouse, on a post on his lawn and filled it with books as a tribute to his late mother, a book lover and school teacher who had recently died. Bol shared his idea with his partner, Rick Brooks, and together they built and installed more of the book-houses in different areas of the Midwestern United States. After a while, the idea started to spread.

“Bol’s original goal was the creation of 2,510 Little Libraries. This would surpass the number of libraries founded by Andrew Carnegie, in a program where library buildings were constructed and endowed in cities across the United States. That goal was met in 2012. The Little Free Library nonprofit has been honored by the National Book Foundation, the Library of Congress, Library Journal, and others for its work promoting literacy and a love of reading.”

There are quite a few little free libraries scattered around our neighborhood. You can see some in the photos above, and we’ll finish with a few more. You can see that some “libraries” contain items other than books.