I had seen several Little Libraries on my Twitter feed and a couple in my town, but there were none in our neighbor… and my dad needed a project. Naturally, I Googled “Little Library” and found the site for the organization: Little Free Library. They provide a wealth of knowledge about getting started with a library… They sell ready-made libraries, provide plans for how to build your own, and a way to register and put your library on the national map. The libraries they sell are pretty expensive, but my dad is pretty handy. it looked like a good project he could work on with my daughter, especially the painting. He built it over the course of a couple weeks and during that time, my daughter spent a weekend over at my parents house. She helped at the hardware store and with the primer and then the first coat of paint. My mom also got in the mix by taking my daughter to her local library’s used book store and picking up some children’s books to put in the library.
My job was to find a spot in the my front yard and dig the hole. Then my dad came over with the stand and we put it in. We then attached the library and let the concrete set for a little while. A ribbon-cutting ceremony and some refreshments, and the library was open for business. Our street gets a good deal of foot traffic from walkers, so there’s been some turnover in the books in our first month. I’m going to try to attract some more visitors this summer. Here’s some ideas I’ve gotten off the Little Library Website: sidewalk chalk, put a book in wrapping paper for a “blind date,” or get the word out on social media.
I’m excited for all the possibilities of sharing reading with our neighborhood.
This is awesome! I’ve always wanted to have a Little Free Library but I just haven’t gotten around to figuring out all the details. Now you’ve motivated me!
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It’s really gotten my neighbors talking about books!
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I’m jealous. I’ve wanted one of these for a while now.
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I’m happy that it’s been good for the neighborhood.
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This is so cool!! I love that you did this. I get so happy every time I see one of these, even more so when I can leave something. What a great gift to your neighborhood.
(Somebody better grab Empty Mansions, that book was so good!)
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We’ve definitely gotten an interesting selection. I need to get some good ones in there. I totally agree about Empty Mansions.
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This is awesome! Good on you guys. This is such a good thing to do for your community and the library looks great!
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Thank you!!
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Wohoo congrats! Looks absolutely great! 😀
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Thank you!
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I’ve always wanted to one of these in front of my house! Now if only my HOA wouldn’t pitch a fit… 😛
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Ugh! Fun Police!
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Love this!! Good job Paul! I wish I lived in a place where I could put up a little free library. I have so many books I’d love to share with the world.
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Thank you! It’s been a great way to make sure my old books are getting a new home.
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There’s one on my street, and one on the next street over, and they certainly get some traffic (I’m a library assistant, so I’ve very familiar with the flow of books). The books that tend to stay a long time are usually poor quality that people just dump there. Making sure you weed this out is important. You can put it on the Little Library website, or on your locale’s Facebook page, but most people who visit are randomly walking by, or purposefully checking. Also, have lots of kids stuff. Check your public library to see if they sell discards or unwanted donations. You’ll get some great cheap books, and fund a good cause.
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Those are awesome tips… There are some in there now that are getting stagnate. We have a very good library book store one town over, but I just have to make time to get over there.
I also heard of people doing a “blind book date” by wrapping a book up and just putting a genre on the outside. Kinda fun!
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How cool! Love that it was a family project. 🙂 There’s a little library I can see on a corner during my drive home from work, and I keep meaning to stop in and maybe leave a few things…..
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I’m best at just digging holes when it came to this project! Ha!
I’ve definitely become more friendly with a couple of my neighbors in the last month talking about books together.
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That’s so lovely! Great job! I wish I lived somewhere where this would work. I’m in a fairly urban setting, and I know a few in the area have gotten vandalized, so sadly, I’ll have to wait until I move to a more supportive place. I love Little Free Libraries!
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Thanks!
I was a little concerned about it, but it’s pretty close to our house and a pretty secluded street.
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Great job, Paul! Every time I see a little free library, it makes my heart happy. So much potential — to think, there could be a book waiting inside that will change someone’s life!
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Right? We’re excited about the possibilities!
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That’s so awesome! Hope your daughter had fun! I live in an apartment, so our free library is a bookcase in the lobby and I LOVE IT. There are always really good selections and I love adding a book and then seeing it disappear in like a week. 😀
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We had a good couple of weeks, but I have to do something to get traffic going… I think we’ll chalk up the sidewalk this week, advertising!
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I think there is a registry for them online somewhere, iirc.
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I bought the plaque, but I’m a little iffy about putting my address up online… I may.
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Oh, that’s a good point, didn’t think of that!
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LOVE IT. I’ve contemplated putting up a LFL for a while because I love the idea but in my neighborhood I’m sure people would…um…take everything and not leave anything, haha. Welp. 🙂 Looks like this was a fun project for all!
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Yeah… results have been mixed… but I went to my library’s used bookstore yesterday and they gave me like 20 bestsellers for like $5. I think I’ll do that every other month to keep some good books in the flow.
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That’s a great idea!
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Is the coulor scheme based of the dutch flag or is that just coincidental?
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Totally coincidental… My daughter said she wanted it red, white, and blue. So my dad came up with a design.
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Its real nice tho.
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Hi Paul, I’m glad to meet another bibliophile who is sharing his love of literature. I just wrote an article about unusual libraries and one of the topics was mini-libraries. Thanks for promoting such a great idea!
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Thanks for stopping by!
Just filled the library up today. Kinda a Sunday chore now, but not a bad one at all.
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