Last weekend with no money to spend and nothing to do, I decided to check out these "Little Free Libraries" I had read about. They are small little wooden boxes with shelves in them, usually around 2x3 feet in size, and they are filled with books donated by community members. The idea is that anyone can borrow/take a book for free to read, and you are encouraged to donate books of your own and/or return the book at a later date. It's all free and on the honor system. I was surprised that there were many in my neighborhood and I had a great time driving to several of them and perusing the selections! I dropped off a few old books and took out a few new-to-me books and now I've got my summer reading all set! Here's some more info, it's a really Neat program:Log In
Unfortunately we don't have these free little libraries where I live now. It sounds great though it does seem more like something that will be more attractive to people who are interested in swapping books they've read for others they haven't. For people who have these in their neighborhoods it can be a great way to save money on books. Me, I'll stick to reading free ebooks until we get the little free libraries in my hometown.
I have one of these libraries in my apartment complex. It's located at the top of the community club house. I have donated some of my old books and discovered some real gems. It's just for the residence of my apartment complex. There is also a free library near my medical clinic. It has a limited collection of books though. According to the link in the OP, there are four free little libraries. I didn't know about these and I will be checking them out.
As an avid book reader, I’m jealous that such free libraries exist where you live. I currently live in a place where there’s not even a library to speak of. People just doesn’t seem to care about reading here. Maybe if I leave a bunch of books in the sidewalk, they probably won’t even dare pick them up. Lol.
It's a wonderful idea, since it encourages people to open their mind and try different books, and it's cheaper than buying always new books. There is only one of these libraries where I live right now but sadly it's almost empty, I tried to donate some books but most of them are still there. I didn't take any book becausere there were already only four or five books. I'll try to convince my friends to donate a few books aswell so maybe we can get that going!
At my community college, we have tons of little shelves with free books! I loved the idea, I wish the university I'm transferring to had a similar thing. I still go back to the college to pick up books and drop some off. Because of the free library, I have way too many books so I'm going to stop by tomorrow to donate some of my used books. I always end up bringing more home even though I tell myself not to because I have too many books as is.
Such library does exist in the central financial district of my country! It is owned by a church but it lends books to non-members of the church as long as one provides a reference. I happen to be member and I could pick up 4 books at most and read it for 7 days before returning them to the library. I was surprised that they carry a wide range of titles for different ages. I managed to borrow some interesting children's books for my son as well as popular books from bestselling authors. I know that these books were donations from their church members and other good people and I'm thankful for the opportunity to read books that I would not otherwise had the chance to read or the extra funds to spend for acquiring them.
We have several on this kind in our country. not only that I think every community has its own mini library completed with books donated by some concerned citizens and some business agencies that supported books of the community project. And we have also a rolling library, a project by a man who himself is the one who pushes his cart filled with books for the kids particularly those who are out of school. In fact, he has been awarded for the rolling library project by the government and by the private agency too.
It sounds so unfair that we have no such facilities but it's such an interesting idea. I feel if I had known before I would have started up such a library where I used to be as I know we were just too many book lovers.
It is sad that such facilities aren't available in my area. It would be fun to go and get some books for my daughter so she will have different books to explore. I am not a big reader but I love the fact that my daughter does enjoy them and is starting to learn so much from them. I don't even think that a normal library exists here.
It really sounds like a neat and interesting program. I am not too sure, but it seems like we can actually buy the little library and set it up ourselves. Of course, if we do so, we need to encourage our neighbors or anyone in the community to contribute to the library, so everyone will benefit from reading the free books in the library. It's good that you already have a few little libraries in your neighborhood. I doubt we have one hear, but it'd nice if I can set it up in future. Thank you for sharing this great concept!
