Sometime after my childhood ended but before my adulthood began, I started noticing little free libraries popping up all over the city. I wasn’t sure if they were a new thing or if I just hadn’t spotted them before.
The six-word manifesto painted on the little boxes, “take a book, share a book,” seemed like too simple of an idea to be a new one, and the design – a little wooden box on a post, resembling either a huge birdhouse or a tiny schoolhouse – was old-fashioned enough that it could have believably been an artifact from an Industrial Revolution-era movement to spread literacy in Dickensian London.
As it turns out, the initiative is much more recent.
In 2009, Todd Bol built a miniature schoolhouse on his front lawn in Wisconsin and filled it with books to honour his mother, a retired teacher who loved to read. He attached a sign that urged people to take and leave books as they pleased.
The concept, equal parts simplicity, generosity, and community, spread like wildfire. Within three years, thousands more were built, and Little Free Library became a registered charity. The organization has now helped build hundreds of thousands of book boxes in 120 countries.
Beyond literacy though, I think what I like most about the idea is that it makes a neighbourhood feel more neighbourly. If a neighbourhood is a shoe, a little free library is a light tug on the laces that just makes things feel more snug. When I drop off a couple of books that my kids have outgrown, and then pass by later to see that those books are now gone, I like knowing that we’ve passed something of real value along to someone who can use it.
You can use this map to find a Little Free Library near you, and you can donate to the organization here. And you can do it all while listening to this beautiful song by Canadian ambient artist Neighborhood Libraries.
What makes this a beautiful song:
1. The first two minutes are dominated by big, imposing synth rumbles.
2. Suddenly, the synth pads fade out to make room for the piano.
3. Starting at 4:38, the pace becomes a bit more motivated. Almost like the momentum you can feel when you’re lost in a good book.
Recommended listening activity:
Using something that isn’t a bookmark as a bookmark.