Little Library

Have you stopped by the Little Library on the lawn of 1222 Harlem Blvd? It is always open and always free. There is a wide variety of literature in there including classical, new releases, best sellers, mysteries, plays, poetry, periodicals, DVD’s and CD’s. Sometimes somebody leaves concert tickets in there. I have even noticed a small package of zinnia seeds come and go. Please feel free to take whatever you like. Feel free to leave whatever you like, too.

There are no hard rules at the Little Library. The guidelines are “Take a book, leave a book.” You do not have to worry about returning the book or movie (or whatever) if you do not have the time. We offer the Little Library and its contents as a simple gift to the community. We hope the Little Library builds trust, literacy and communication.

We have noticed that the variety of literature in the Little Library attracts a terrific variety of people. We have seen young children peeking in there as well as teenage boys, dog walkers and couples young and old. Runners, bikers and people driving down Harlem Blvd. have stopped to check it out.

We first learned about the Little Library in August 2011 on Facebook. The moment I read the article, I knew in my heart we had to have one. I showed the article to Jesse and he immediately said, “Let’s build one.”

From the article, I gleaned that Little Libraries originated in Wisconsin. Since then I have read in another article that no one knows who originated the Little Library. The only thing I do know is that they are popping up all over the country as well as in Europe.

If you have any questions about building one for yourself, please feel free to talk to us. We built ours for less than $100. We recycled some wood and materials and bought the remaining supplies and lumber. The most expensive items were the post hole digger and the post. You can use our digger, if you like. If you enter “Little Library” in your internet search engine, you will find many useful articles about this exciting trend.

There are many benefits to Little Libraries. Besides building trust, literacy and communication, we have noticed that it also builds safety. Because we check ours throughout the day, we are also checking the neighborhood. The added “rounds” from our house to the front yard have helped us keep a better eye on the neighborhood. We believe our activity adds a touch of safety for all of us. I can’t help but wonder if instead of security cameras it might be better to have Little Libraries set up in the front and back yards of America.