The next time you find a little wooden box on a post in your neighborhood or near a school or park, make a mental note to bring a book next time. You’ve stumbled on a Little Free Library: the only payment to take a book is to leave one for someone else. 📙
At Ruskin Square in Hollingsworth Park at Verdae. Photo by @ambick_styleenvy
Little Free Libraries (LFL, for the sake of space) have been popping up throughout Greenville. In 2016, Susannah Baldwin of the Bay Laurel Center for Psychotherapy (near Bon Secours Wellness Arena) decided to start a LFL stocked with thought-provoking books – at times it was totally emptied out by interested readers.
A Greer Girl Scout troop put up two libraries that same year and Patti B. shared four in Simpsonville installed by her son’s Eagle Scout troop in 2017. A fourth grader even put one up by the Swamp Rabbit Trail last year. That’s the thing about Little Free Libraries – *anyone* can create one.
If you’re handy with wood, you can make your own library, but littlefreelibrary.org also has easy kits you can order. Each LFL is maintained by a steward (a.k.a. selfless caretaker) who makes sure it’s stocked.
Starting a Little Free Library would be a perfect community project for an office group or a great family project with the kids.
Stewards have added solar lights, notebooks for readers to leave book reviews, or invited neighborhood kids to paint the exterior of the boxes. You could even give someone a Little Free Library kit as a gift. (And if you feel like crying today, read these sweet stories about the impact of LFLs.)
If you’re in a community where easy access to books would make a big difference for local kids, apply to the Impact Library Program. If you’re accepted, you’ll get a LFL for free. Set it up + maintain it for at least one year, take a photo and share the story of the library, and hold a community event (like a kids’ storytime or book club meeting) – then watch the love for reading grow.
Facebook users sounded off on where to find Little Free Libraries in Simpsonville + this Overbook LFL and one on Jones Ave have their own Facebook pages. We even asked on Instagram where to find local LFLs and got dozens of responses. (If you’ve seen any near you, send us photos so we can share the good feels.)
There’s also Little Free Pantry, which provides small drop off + pick up points for non-perishable food, personal hygiene items, + other materials instead of books. There aren’t any in Greenville yet, but maybe that’s your chance to launch a pantry in your neighborhood.
