Little Free Libraries

Take one, leave one, maybe put one in front of your house

Todd Bol of Hudson, Wisconsin was probably not the first person to set out a box of books on his front stoop for the taking. But back in 2009, he was the first person to turn the idea into a nonprofit network. Working with Rick Brooks at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the original goal was to have 2,509 Little Free Libraries by 2013 — matching the number of free brick and mortar libraries that steel magnate Andrew Carnegie funded at the turn of the 20th century. They reached that number a year and a half ahead of time. By 2025, the organization counted more than 200,000 Little Free Libraries in 128 countries worldwide.

My neighborhood is thick with these wonderful expressions of community which I began to document during the pandemic when an afternoon walk (sometimes on the phone with a work colleague, sometimes alone with my thoughts) was key to my sanity. At this writing, my own Google map has over 170 boxes in DC and the close-in Montgomery County suburbs I frequent — more than are noted on the official Little Free Library map but far fewer than the 400 plus boxes identified by a guy named Akiva Fishman whom I read about on Axios. (Hey Akiva, if you are listening, you missed a bunch in my neck of the woods.) For the record, I am not the owner of one of these boxes. But my next door neighbor is and one per block seems sufficient.

What’s interesting to me is that many of these boxes offering free books have their own personalities and circulation patterns. There are boxes where the product rarely moves while others are emptied and refilled frequently, boxes where you’ll find wonderful children’s books or the latest issues of The New Yorker and Cook’s Illustrated, boxes chock full of review copies of political biographies, and others where there are typically titles in foreign languages.

These folks on Oregon Avenue NW really committed to the bit.

Seen on my travels: a bus stop in northern England kitted out with bookshelves; a book box in a park in Ronda, Spain

There are Little Frees that are dedicated to jigsaw puzzles (sometimes with Post-It disclaimers: “this puzzle is missing two pieces”) and others that serve as food pantries.

Honestly, all manner of things gets dropped off in the boxes — packs of greeting cards that charities send out, toys from Happy Meals, CDs and DVDs, socks and gloves, and for some reason, a fair number of Christmas ornaments. You can find some of the most odd ball finds on the Prince of Petworth website by using the search bar and entering “look what I found in a little free library.” I was amused by this collection of items below, that must have been used as bookmarks, left in a box around the corner from me.

The phenomenon also spawned a best selling novel, Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books. It’s a fun read with quirky characters that takes on the very serious issue of library book bans.

My only beef with the Little Frees is that my nightstand TBR stack just keeps growing. But when I do make progress, I recycle them back. So that’s gotta be a win.