Little Free Libraries springing up locally and globally
They look like fancy little mailboxes on people’s front lawns, but they’re not filled with mail. They’re filled with books that are free for the taking. Little Free Libraries started springing up in 2009 after Todd Bol of Hudson, Wisconsin built a model of a one room schoolhouse as a tribute to his mother, a former school teacher who loved reading. He filled it with books and put it on a post in his front yard – and his neighbors and friends loved it. Bol built several more and gave them away, each one with a sign that read “Free Books.” Now, there are over 32,000 registered Little Free Library book exchanges in all 50 U.S. states and over 70 countries around the world.
Locally, a new Little Free Library just sprung up in Hilton at 193 Lake Ave. Michelle Frechette Ames, owner of Marketed by Michelle, said she first heard about Little Free Libraries on Facebook several years ago. “I’ve had the idea in the back of my mind for a while,” she said. “I recently worked on a client’s website and we bartered with him to build me one in return.”
The concept of a Little Free Library is to take a book and leave a book. “It’s not a traditional library where you have to sign out the book and return it by a specific time,” said Ames. “What I love about them is that people who love to read can get a book whenever they want and that it’s a way for individuals to promote literacy.”
Ames, a member of the Hilton Board of Education and an avid reader herself, also sees her library as a convenient place for her to share the books she’s read. The first book she shared in her Little Free Library was Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. “My goal is to offer mostly fiction and I would ask that people not put textbooks in there, although a few ‘how to’ books would be okay,” she said.
In Canton, NY, an eighth grade class teamed up with the Canton Rotary Club and a Girl Scout Troop to install 12 Little Free Libraries around the town. In Rochester’s western suburbs, there are Little Free Libraries at 39 Cherry Dr. in Brockport and 281 Pinebrook Dr. in Greece. “It’s something that you put in your yard, but it becomes a community project,” said Ames.
Ames, along with Angela Boccuzzi-Reichert, Merton Williams Middle School librarian, will be offering a Little Free Library class through Hilton Central School District’s Community Education in the spring.
To find other Little Free Libraries and to learn more about them, visit littlefreelibrary.org. The site also offers plans for building your own and ones that can be purchased ready-made. Registering a Little Free Library on the site is about $40 and includes tips for a successful library and an official plaque.
