Retired teacher Abby Seifers created and stocks her own free library to get books into children's hands.
(Sarah Vaughan WFIU-WTIU News)
The Little Free Library movement envisions a "book for every reader," according to littlefreelibrary.org. One new city resident wondered why there couldn’t be a Little Free Library in every park.
Karen Kimbrel is a recent transplant to Bloomington from Charlotte, North Carolina, where she worked as a library assistant.
“I just adore libraries and I adore books,” she said.
But she had to downsize when she moved to Bloomington to be near her daughter.
“And so I had to really get rid of a lot of books, which killed me.”
Book lover that she is, she hung on to a few and looked for Little Free Libraries to help her spread the love of reading, especially, she hoped, to children.
“As we know so many kids don't have access to books at home-- and there's a lot!” she said. “(It) can really be very telling for their future schooling and employment really ... including the ability to go on to college.”
What are Little Free Libraries?
If you haven’t heard of them, Little Free Libraries are “book-sharing boxes” in public places, providing access to books 24/7. The first little free library was erected in 2009 as a memorial, according to the St Paul, Minnesota, nonprofit Little Free Library.
According to the organization’s website, the movement has spread, with more than 150,000 official little free libraries in 110 countries. LittleFreeLibrary.org even provides step-by-step instructions for how to build a library. Those who go through the national nonprofit can register a library and have it appear on their online map.
Can’t we have one in every city park?
Kimbrel is a fan of the Monroe County Public Library but recognizes not everyone can get there. One day she was walking near Highland Village Park on Bloomington’s westside.
“And I thought that's where you put Little Free Libraries,” she said. “Right where the kids are.”
In fact, every local park, she said, would benefit from having free access to books for all ages.
Julie Ramey is the community relations manager for the City of Bloomington’s Department of Parks and Recreation. She said the department does not have the funds to place libraries in every city park. But it has worked with nonprofits and Boy Scouts to install preconstructed libraries -- for example, in Bryan Park or Waldron, Hill and Buskirk Park.
She said the first step is to submit a proposal to the Parks and Rec’s Operations Department. Ramey stressed that proposals need to include a five-year maintenance plan so tax dollars aren’t spent repairing them.
“There's nothing more sad than walking past a dilapidated Little Free Library where the door has broken off or it's filled with trash or you know, where it's been graffitied or things like that,” she said.
Ramey said for example, the library formerly located next to Waldron, Hill and Buskirk Park was the handiwork of Boy Scout Troop 148. That park’s playground was recently renovated.
“And when we removed the Little Free Library because of the construction and renovation of the playground, the Scout troop took the Little Free Library back,” she said. “And they still have it in preparation for either placing it back or putting it somewhere else.”
The organization Friends of the Monroe County Public Library also spearheaded the placement of libraries in the city and the county, including at Will Detmer Park. That Little Free Library is stewarded by the MCPL children's department, according to Ginny Hosler, Children's Community Engagement Librarian. MCPL is building a map of local Little Free Libraries on its website.
What if I want to set up my own Little Free Library?
You don’t have to go through the Little Free Library nonprofit to establish one.
Retired teacher Abby Seifers said she’s always wanted to create a little free library so she built one in a corner of her yard and dedicated it to children's books.
“I want kids to have books in their hands,” she said.
Seifers remembers that while she was teaching, books available at school weren’t necessarily available for kids to take home. So she created her own stash -- with multiple copies.
“So it wouldn’t be the end of the world if a book didn’t come back,” she said.
She stocks her library with books she knows from experience kids will like: some nonfiction, some with nice pictures, and chapter books. Plus, some of her personal favorites: The Boxcar Children and books by the author Beverly Cleary. She said other people come by and put in books, too.
Little Free Libraries aren’t just for kids. Adults enjoy the service as well. The Parks Department’s Julie Ramey has borrowed a few that became favorites. She likes westerns and once found “an awesome story” in a Joe Pickett novel by author C.J. Box that she pulled from a Little Free Library on the west side of town. The only problem was it was the fifth in a series.
“It was fantastic,” she said. “So I went to the real library and got the first one and read through the whole series. Because I got number five from the Little Free Library.”
Abby Siefers said she and her husband will be roaming the city during the holidays looking for Little Free Libraries they can plump up with a few more books. Karen Kimbrel has an inner book fairy as well.
“I used to do that in Charlotte – buy them at the (library) book sale and then be the little book fairy -- sprinkle them around the neighborhood,” she said. “I just get a real kick out of doing that."
