Anne here, and today I'm talking about a phenomenon that's caught my eye recently — Street Libraries, also called Little Free Libraries. A street library is a little collection of books set up in a public place — for instance your front yard where it is accessible from the street — for people to borrow, or swap or simply to take a book.
There are no rules, nobody checks the books in or out — it's all on a trust system. The books come, and the books go. And with any luck, new ones will appear. To quote Street Libraries Australia: "Street Libraries are a window into the mind of a community . . . They are a symbol of trust and hope – a tiny vestibule of literary happiness."
It's a lovely idea, I think. I first noticed one at the Queen Victoria Market — a big traditional undercover marketplace in the centre of Melbourne. Tucked in behind a row of fruit and vegetable stalls was a large wooden cabinet with open doors displaying a range of books. (Unfortunately my photo turned out poorly so I can't show it to you.)
As I watched, people came up, flipped through the books, selected one and left. Were they pinching books? If they were, nobody seemed to care. And then I realized— it was a street library.
According to Wikipedia, "The first Little Free Library was built in 2009 by Todd Bol in Hudson, Wisconsin. He mounted a wooden container designed to look like a one-room schoolhouse on a post on his lawn and filled it with books as a tribute to his mother, who was a book lover and school teacher." And from there, the idea went global.
Little free libraries has a FaceBook page
Some people have gone to great lengths to design and build charming little street libraries — the ones on this page are but a small collection. Google the term and see all the delightful street libraries that will appear.
Of course a good Little Street Library needs to be weather proof, and pest proof, and hopefully attractive. There are DIY Build your own street library websites and classes. Here's another. Pinterest is awash with ideas and plans
But you don't have to have anything permanent if you don't want to. Author Julie Cohen was clearing out some books recently, and put a small bookshelf out on the footpath, with a sign saying "Please take as many books as you like—but leave me the shelf."
She said : "I filled it with books I've enjoyed but which I know I'll probably never read again. (I always need more space for books—I bought five last week.)
All day, people walked past and took books. My neighbours took children's stories; a stranger picked up all the travel guides to places we've been. A blonde woman took five and said "I was looking for books for my holiday." So I handed her another one that I'd particularly enjoyed.
Every time I looked out my window, someone different was in front of my house, reading. I refilled the shelves twice.
At about 8 pm, there was a knock on the door, and when we opened it, no one was there, but the bookshelf had been placed in front of our door. Every book gone."
Isn't that a lovely story? She put it on her facebook page, and when I wrote to ask for permission to use her photo, she said, "That photo had nearly 100 shares on Facebook, but on Twitter, it went a bit viral and was seen over 330,000 times and I had people from all over the world get in touch with me about it. The power of books!"
So, what about you — had you heard about street libraries before? Do you like the idea or not? Are there any little street libraries near you? I know many of us are practically drowning in books — would you want to start a street library, or maybe use the Julie Cohen method?