"Little Free Libraries" Popping Up Around The City
Baltimore Sun - Upon first approach, the box might be a bit confounding. It’s cute, but what is it? A huge birdhouse? A miniature school stuck on a pole? In fact, it’s a Little Free Library, and it’s becoming a popular way to build community and foster a love of reading. The Dowd family installed one last year in their Arcadia neighborhood — at the corner of Canfield Avenue and Juneau Place — and it immediately created a buzz. Rick Brooks, one of the co-founders of Little Free Libraries, said there are only a few rules for using them: generosity and sharing being at the top of the list. He said the Little Free Library project got rolling in the summer of 2010. Since then, hundreds have been built and installed all over the country. There are more than 20 in Baltimore, some formally registered with the Little Free Library’s site and some not. Brooks said there could easily be many more libraries in the city that the official group doesn’t know about. He said he sees new ones every day. Brooks said he wanted not only to build communities of book lovers but also connect with those who don’t have access to books. Vaeth said she and Rinehart buy about $8 worth of books every other week to keep the Little Free Library stocked. At first, Vaeth said, she had to consistently restock the library because books were being taken but not returned. One day she decided not to restock and leave the library mostly empty. “After about a week people started filling it up,” she said. “It put the responsibility back on the community so that as stewards we don’t have to continually supply it.”
Everyone knows Baltimore is the “city that reads”. It used to be plastered on the benches all over the city. Nothing like sitting on a bench on MLK boulevard to read a nice chapter or two of the newest John Grisham novel. So it makes perfect sense for mini-libraries to be springing up like daisies across the extremely literate city.
How about Baltimore uses this as a model for other things that could actually benefit the city? Little Free Methadone Clinic would be a smashing success. Little Free Paternity Test? The line would be around the block. Little Free New Pair of Jordans? Little Free Gasoline and Lighter To Burn Your White Suit and Destroy All Evidence? What other ideas could Baltimore implement?