Little Free Libraries
If you are a book lover and a techie like me, you probably have become invested in ebooks. Whether you use Amazon Kindle or Barnes & Noble Nook or Apple iBooks makes little difference. The convienience of downloading and storing a book in digital format is a killer app compared to dead tree media aka paper books.
I have collected dozens and dozens of paperback and hardcover books since the 90s. Many of them in very good condition. Mostly they were stored away, collecting dust. Some of my favorites I have been repurchasing in Kindle format to read on my iPhone. Being short on physical storage space, I wanted to donate the physical books. The thought of throwing them in the trash nearly put me in a state of grief.
I remember seeing something in a neighborhood that looked like a birdhouse with glass doors on the front. On the front it said "Little Free Library". What a clever idea, and good for community development. I could donate books here as well as my local community library (which has a used book store that accepts donations to fund the local library system).
Little Free Library on Delaware St Fairfield, CA
I have since discovered there are at least 4 Little Free Libraries near me. One can build or buy Little Free Library Bookcase and have it listed on the Little Free Library Map. While chatting with a steward of a LFL I asked how well the bookcase protects books during a rainy season (rare here in California). The cases do keep the books dry, some have latches that keep it closed and the doors seem tight.
Header image courtesy LittleFreeLibrary.org (https://littlefreelibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Vernon-Winters-2621-Mountlake-Terrace-Washington.jpg)
