Have you ever found yourself at a park or other public outdoor space without a good book to read?
If you had a “Little Free Library” nearby, you probably wouldn’t have that problem.
An example of a Little Free Library
That was part of the message conveyed by the Hellertown Area Library’s Erin Clavier and local architect Maria Diaz-Joves to Hellertown Borough Council Monday, in a presentation about Little Free Libraries and their idea to introduce them in the borough.
A Little Free Library is a small kiosk–often shaped like a house–that holds a small collection of free reading materials.
According to a Wikipedia page about them, Little Free Libraries were first “popularized in Hudson, Wisc., in 2009 when Todd Bol mounted a wooden container designed to look like a school house on a post on his lawn as a tribute to his mother, who was a book lover and school teacher.”
The mission of LittleFreeLibrary.org has since become “to promote literacy and the love of reading by building free book exchanges worldwide and build a sense of community as we share skills, creativity and wisdom across generations.”
In Hellertown, there are several locations that could lend themselves to these micro-libraries, including the pool, the parks and the public areas around Borough Hall, which Mayor Richard Fluck noted have a number of seldom-used benches that could become reading spots.
“We’re trying to bring the library to locations where people are already there,” said Diaz-Joves. “The library’s not open all the time.”
“(A Little Free Library) has a whole different concept than libraries, even though they’re connected…by books,” Clavier pointed out.
She said each kiosk will have its own “steward” who is responsible for making sure that the structure is sound and that the collection inside it is “OK.”
Diaz-Joves said they would like to establish one or two of the little libraries in the borough, just to see what the response to the concept is.
And borough council members were supportive of that mission.
“As long as they’re taking care of it I don’t mind supporting experimentation like this,” said councilman Joe Pampanin. “If it doesn’t work, you just take it down.”
“The communities that have them seem to love them,” added councilman Herb Payung. “It doesn’t hurt to try it, and it could be something really great.”
Councilman John Bate recommended that the first Little Free Library be erected at the Hellertown Pool, as it attracts a large cross-section of people and is a secure area at night.
A motion he made to approve the concept and allow for the first Little Free Library to be installed at the pool passed unanimously, with councilman Mike McKenna absent.
“I can’t pass one of those Little Free Libraries without going through the books,” commented resident Linda Leewright after the motion passed. “They’re really a lot of fun.”
