Posts filed in Little Free Library

Introduction

Meet our Little Free Library #9078

It’s official, we now have a lovely Little Free Library in our front yard! What is a “Little Free Library” you ask? It is a small box or similar structure that houses books. The idea is to take a book and return a book for neighbors to enjoy. Want to know more? Check out the video from the official website.

As a Librarian, it seemed logical to put one in our yard. We were adopted by a local girl-scout troop who built, painted, and installed the library in our neighborhood. I told them to go nuts on the colors and it is really adorable. The troop leader’s husband built the library and the girls added the paint. It even has shingles and weather stripping!

IMG_4053

Here is the front of our library. The number is #9078. It has a custom latch and cute little door knob!

IMG_4054IMG_4055

The girls added a mini chalkboard on each side so I can leave messages.

IMG_4056

The back is just as cute as the front!

IMG_4051

Inside the library visitors will find an assortment of books. We have been hit pretty hard in the past few weeks are running low! It’s a good problem to have!

IMG_4052

I added a notebook and pen for people to leave us messages. I also added a cup of bookmarks. The messages have been very encouraging. One person wrote: (cue tears)

“Thank you so very much. It’s people like you who make a difference. I’m still young. The only reason I can read is because of people like you.” 

We have had an absolute blast having this in our yard. It has helped us get to know our neighbors a lot better and we have loved seeing all the visitors. This year we are on a city wide scavenger hunt for a Passport to health living program and our visits have almost doubled in the past few weeks.

If you are looking for something fun to do in your neighborhood I highly suggest adding a Little free library. It is a great way to share the love of reading to those around you! For more information click on the link below and check out the libraries in your city!

www.littlefreelibrary.org

 

 

 

 

Tags:
, ,
Uncategorized

Little free library update!

We are getting a little free library!!! I am so excited. A girl scout troop at our school decided that this would be a perfect community service project. I offered our yard as one of the sites. It is going to be so much fun to set up. The girls are working up flyers and spreading the word. Until we set it up enjoy these amazing Little Libraries I found on Pinterest.

 

A Little Library Tardis!!!

 

New York

 

 

 

 

 

Tags:
, ,
Uncategorized

A Little free Library date!

The Mister and I recently discovered that our town has Little Free libraries! We found one by chance on the way home from the comic book store. It is super cute with bright flowers painted on the sides and filled to the brim  with books. If you have never heard of the Little Free Library movement check them out at http://www.littlefreelibrary.org/

We decided to look up and see if there were more around the city. We ended up finding four and made it part of our weekly date night. I dug through my shelves for books to trade at each stop while he plotted everything out using our trusty GPS. Most of the libraries were in neighborhood yards. However, one was located in an office complex! I thought that was a brilliant idea. Hey, even business people need books.  It was a super fun night and now I am saving money for a Little Free Library in our yard! Here is our tour with an explaination of each stop. Enjoy!

Stop #1- Center city

IMG_2818

This Library is the traditional design that is featured on the website. It is painted bright blue on the sides and had a decent selection for kids and adults.

IMG_2820

Here are the contents that we found. I left the book “A room with a view” and just took a few pictures. They also had a little grey tube with a pencil and some paper where you could leave notes.

IMG_2821

I really liked the bright blue sides that looked like paneling. Everything looked durable and weatherproof.

Stop #2– Another blue box (I forgot to snap a picture of the sides)

IMG_2822

This library had some pretty flowers planted all around the base and was full of books from top to bottom!

IMG_2825

This one had a good mix of fantasy, adult fiction, mystery, romance, children’s books and some magazines. I love the burgundy paint on the inside. I think they might need a bigger box!!

IMG_2828

I decided to leave little notes at each library. I really want people to know that this is a wonderful thing! Lots of people don’t have access to literature and being able to grab a book to read for free is encouraging.

Stop #3- My favorite little Library!

IMG_2834

This one is my favorite. It has two shelves for books, LED lights that use solar energy, a cute notebook for suggestions, decorations on the windows and pretty flowers at the base. This is the first library we spotted and it is what motivated our date. I really like the design.

IMG_2833

This one is really organized well! A librarians dream. I like the inside colors and the suggestion notebook. It looks like the owners answer each message that is left. They had a decent mix of adult, children’s and teen fiction. None of the others had YA books so this was a welcome change.

IMG_2832 IMG_2831

I love the outside! The cheerful flowers and sun makes it really welcoming and eye catching. You could see it as you drove by.

Stop # 4- The Mister’s favorite library. Books for Business people!

IMG_2836

This little library is located in a business park. It has a very classy design and even has shingles!! The mister loved that it was not in a neighborhood. It is located near the mailboxes so everyone can see it.

IMG_2837

This has a very Carnegie feel to it!! It also has been really taken care of. There were lots of books for adults along with magazines like Forbes and Time. I think it is one of the prettiest in the city. The design is very classy.

IMG_2838

We had lots of fun on our date and were able to unload some books from our shelves. I only ended up taking one book out of all the stops. We mainly just wanted to see what others had created and how accessible they were to the general public. I am happy to report that we found them all very easily and each one had a good mix of things for all kinds of readers.

I cannot wait to order my kit and set one up in our yard! How can I not have a little free library when I am a librarian? We have lots of kids and teens in our neighborhood so ours will be very kid friendly. I thought about adding recipe books, gardening and possibly the newspaper along with the books. The Mister wants it to be two stories and very colorful. Once we get it finished I will be sure to update and post lots of pictures.

Do you have a Little Free Library in your neighborhood?

~VEB

Tags:
, , , , , ,