Sunday, March 11, 2012

Little Free Libraries

What a great idea! I saw this on the news this morning. This project was the brainchild of Todd Bol and Rick Brooks, who first met in 2009 while exploring the benefits of green practices in small businesses.

They started with the very first "one room schoolhouse" seen to the left, and since then people around the country have built their own Little Free Libraries.

The idea is basically "take a book, leave a book". These are little libraries that belong to the community.

Their mission is:
  • To promote literacy and the love of reading by building free book exchanges worldwide.
  • To build a sense of community as we share skills, creativity and wisdom across generations.
  • To build more than 2,510 libraries around the world--more than Andrew Carnegie!
Here are some of the libraries created by individuals across the country...









I'd love to have something like this in my area, but would worry about how to deal with our inclement weather. I live in south Florida, and we can have regular fierce rain storms!

They tell you how to order a library (they range $100-600 in cost), or how to build your own.

Like them on Facebook, and check out the map to see whether there is one near you.

Check out the Little Free Library website. Maybe you can do one in your area?

3 comments:

Mona said...

I read about this in the paper(USA TODAY?) and thought it was a great idea too. It encourages literacy and builds community ties.

I hope those taking advantage of this great idea have the honesty and/or integrity to follow the rules.

On another somewhat related topic, I once stayed at Country Inn hotel and they have this system where you can take a book off their shelves and return it at any Country Inn the next time you stay or happen by. I'm sure one can donate their own books when they are finished with them.

I often leave finished books(my own, of course) and/or magazines for others to enjoy. It's my own little way of being green.

Jaye Robin Brown said...

I love this and the little libraries are adorable. This would be a great cross-curricular project between an English/Carpentry/Art department at our high school. Awesome.

Tina said...

What a terrific idea....I completely missed this in the news! Thanks for all the links.