#little libraries

[fucxingcuties]

[solar-sunnyside-up]

Little libraries -

Free little Libraries are a great passive mutual aid project. Originally inspired by DIY projects they are easy to build, are generally low maintenance once established, creative and fun artworks within themselves, and its a great way to introduce a gift economy into your neighborhood!

History-

2009- Todd Bol of Hudson, Wisconsin, built a model of a one room schoolhouse. It was a tribute to his mother; she was a teacher who loved to read. He filled it with books and put it on a post in his front yard. His neighbors and friends loved it, so he built several more and gave them away.

UW-Madison’s Rick Brooks saw Bol’s do-it-yourself project while they were discussing potential mutual aid projects. They were inspired by community gift-sharing networks, “take a book, leave a book” collections in coffee shops and public spaces, and most especially by the philanthropist Andrew Carnegie.

2010 the name Little Free Library was established and the purpose of these Little Free Library book exchanges became clear: to share good books and bring communities together.As Bol and Brooks continued to give away Little Free Libraries with wooden charter signs, engraved with official charter numbers, curiosity and demand for more Libraries grew. The acceleration centered on the enthusiasm of early adopters and stewards, who were crucial advocates. Some small grants and informal partnerships began to have an impact on Little Free Library’s ability to keep up with demand.

2011 brought national media attention, and by the end of the year there were nearly 400 Little Free Libraries in existence. That number would skyrocket to over 4,000 Libraries within a year. 

2012  Little Free Library became a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in the states!

Little Free Libraries have continued to grow by leaps and bounds every year. In 2022 we surpassed 150,000 registered Libraries in more than 120 countries worldwide. Even establishing an online map and app to help people locate the libraries!

How do I do this?

The little library website hosts a bunch of plans and blueprints to make a library or get ideas for locations. Even having ready to order kits if you want!

You will need either land or public approval to establish one however, this can be by the city, neighbours, or other public spaces but they are technically put on private land. You wont find anyone ho would object to their installation but I would not recommend just installing one unless your okay with it being taken down.

Pick a location that has a lot of foot traffic and be highly visible to anyone nearby and is accessible as possible.

Register your library! You can get an official charter sign by doing this step!!

Fill it up with books!!

[jorgha-haq]

Little Free Libraries and their Ilk

Little Free Libraries and their Ilk

Not everyone is a fan of little free libraries, official trademarked ones or unofficial “rogue” ones. I know, right?! I made the face too. Let me back up. I was looking for ideas to make my own little free library out of something recycled. Why spend a couple hundred dollars on something when you can just as easily reclaim something and give it a new purpose? While scouring the internet I found…

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[takkynoko]

[rush-art-blog]

All of these little libraries, like moments frozen in time. Maybe i don’t love them just because of the books, maybe its the messages they send

[solar-sunnyside-up]

You know what I just realized? That there should be more brailled books in little free libraries. If anything to help people get more interested in braille if it’s one of those brailled and print books so parents can read to their young kids and have them learn braille. (Listen reading to your kids is super important as you know. But it’s even more important for the kids who don’t read the same way you are I might.)

Oooh I wish I could read braile but as you said the resources and access at limited. That's super cool thing to do tho!!

[solar-sunnyside-up]

so i saw your post about little libraries and i just wanted to vent (yes again, im so fucking angry about this tho)

so my community board, of which my mom is the vice president, set up a little library near the poolhouse (we live in mildly rich suburbia, usa for context)

i was thrilled at first about the little library... until my mom pulled a middle school book about lockdown from the library

and when i pressed her about it she said the book was "bad" (ie it talks about sensitive topics)

im just mad bc the whole point of a library is to educate, and if middle schoolers cant learn about topics that they will likely face (school shootings/lockdowns), then what even is the point of the little library?

My lovely little sprout it's ok! Vent away! 🌱

This is pretty shitty you got every reason to feel that way. I don't wanna diminish it at all! Libraries are for learning for sure!

Something I don't think I have talked about little Libraries in general, is they end up being apart of a genre usually. This is typically not on purpose, the person who built it really likes romance novels or cook books, and as a result the only things rotated in and out end up being within this category bc thats what started off there. I have about 7 within a good 30 minute walk of me, and there is at least 3 that is basically exclusively bibles/relgious stories for kids/chicken soup for the soul/romance eroctia and like that's it. If you wanted kids novels or a mystery book you'd have to hunt down a different little library!

So this, again on purpose or not, tends to happen a lot. I wouldn't sweat too much about it. The main thing here is if she has a little library and they are deemed "good" by their morals for long enough, others get to have them too. And eventually, that other person will have an education based one. At bare minimum it will let kids who grow up their recognize what they are and when they move will allow them to know to hunt them down then.

[solar-sunnyside-up]

Actually hi this is the braille books for little free librarys anon, I found the national braille press for America and I found the link to the picture books for kids. Not too sure if you’ll be able to buy from it and have it shipped to Canada, but it’s really nice to know that there’s an organization that you can get these books from. And here’s a DK Braille book for the itty bitty ones that I found through Bookshop

https://shop.nbp.org/collections/print-braille-picture-books?page=1&view=all

https://bookshop.org/p/books/dk-braille-shapes-dk/18359315?ean=9781465436122

Fuck yea!!!

Kids def deserve stories no matter what, and to be able to read them. I'll def put that in my ref library!!