I’m A Little Free Librarian

No, I’m not tiny. Nor am I really a librarian. They call us “stewards” who have these little libraries. I had heard of Little Free Libraries on social media, little hut-like, mailbox-sized structures installed near the sidewalk on people’s properties. The idea that you could put out a box with books with a “Take a Book, Return a Book” philosophy seemed so very democratic that I was intrigued. They were as simple as a carved-out tree stump, or as elaborate as a solar panel-lit doll house. I wanted in.

Now, I could have built it myself, but the days when I built birdhouses and carved gifts for friends and family were pretty much over. It was tough to turn around in our very cluttered garage and I had books to write. But I mentioned it enough that my husband, Craig, took note, even as to the kind I was thinking of making: a Tudor-style cottage.

When my birthday rolled around in 2018, he was working on a secret project in the garage. I was not allowed in there. And I had no clue as to what he was doing. When it finally emerged, I knew instantly what it was.

He put the white base coat on and left it for me to do the artistic painting. I got to it right away. From the “thatched roof”, to the aged plaster, to the half-timbers.

It’s hot in the Inland Empire. Too hot to be outside digging a foundation and doing cement work. And then a book tour took away our weekends. It wasn’t until late November of that year that he was able to get out there and set it up.

He’d already gotten it registered with LittleFreeLibrary.org, and it was up to me to add the details to get it on the world map. Turns out there’s another one in my town a few miles away.

The project is a non-profit grassroots organization based out of Hudson, Wisconsin that encourages people in communities all over the world to offer free books in residential areas, in front of their businesses, in parks, and other places the public can see them, to promote “literacy, community, and creativity.” If you can’t build your own, you can buy a little library from them, even get books (though I got a lot of mine from my local library’s Friends of the Library bookstore, especially the YA books that I simply don’t have around. And yes, even copies of my own mysteries.) Now I’m called a “Steward” and though I try not to obsess over it, I am constantly creeping by my front window to spy on it. I want to be handy to answer questions, though when you register it and pay the fee, you receive a charter sign with your registration number, and the “Take a Book, Return a Book” slogan on it, which you mount on the library. They work with people in eighty plus countries around the world, which I thought was pretty keen.

Since snow and snowplows don’t seem to be in issue in SoCal, I felt confident that we could put it right next to the sidewalk, and since we have a corner lot on a path leading directly to an elementary school and near a school bus stop, I knew it should have an adequate supply of YA and children’s books. That’s the bottom shelf. The upper shelf has mysteries for adult readers…and everything else readers leave me. Little Free Library emphasizes that it isn’t up to the Steward to keep the library stocked—that’s the community part—but to talk to neighbors to also be stewards and add their own books, always making sure the books are appropriate for a varied audience.

I had a brief scuffle with people who think it’s an easy way to evangelize. With folks who think outdated and very LARGE tax books are a good idea to dump in there. And other inappropriate books, tapes, and…objects. I’m afraid I had to put a little sign on there explaining what NOT to leave. I still go out there from time to time to straighten it up and remove the odd outdated tax books and other books that just aren’t appropriate.

In these times where ignorance seems to be celebrated, I had hopes that my small effort might yield encouraging results. And it’s just lovely seeing the same cars, with the same parents, and the same kids tumbling out to get a new book!

The terrible heat in the summer has been hard on the old girl, and we had to replace the roof with real shingles, and I have to spruce up the paint a bit, but it stands tall, my little fight for freedom to read what you like and just a fun spot to encourage others to put up their own Little Library.

Check out LittleFreeLibrary.org for more information.