Take a Book, Share a Book

ONE DAY LAST FALL, I was rummaging through a Little Free Library (LFL) on Antone Street looking for a new board book or two for my toddler when the homeowner stepped out his front door. For a moment, I was embarrassed. “You caught me stealing books!” I said, sheepishly.

“Not at all,” he reassured me. “That’s what they’re there for.”

The homeowner and I made small talk. I told him about how much my little guy loves books, and he shared that he and his wife often swing by Half-Price to buy children’s materials for their LFL. He complimented my bookish OT-shirt, and we wished each other well before I continued my walk, weighed down by board books but feeling lighter than I had all day.

The Little Free Library movement began in 2009 with a single box in Wisconsin. The concept is simple: Set up a book-exchange box in front of your house, in a park or in a public garden, stock it with books and encourage neighbors to take what they’d like and leave a book behind when they can. Today, there are more than 200,000 Little Free Libraries registered with the nonprofit in over 100 countries, tracking 400 million books shared.

While the global growth is impressive, the impact of the movement is clearest when we zoom all the way in, to the little moments of community engagement they foster in neighborhoods like Mueller.

A SPIRIT OF SHARING

Littlefreelibrary.org’s interactive map shows seven registered LFLs in Mueller, but there are far more. You can hardly turn a corner in Mueller without seeing at least one “book house” (as my toddler calls them) inviting neighbors to browse.

There’s the Mueller TARDIS on Camacho, the Macleods’ Little Free Library on Berkman and the not-so-Little Free Library in Branch Park with its several compartments and a built-in reading nook. There’s even a little free art exchange—a twist on the traditional LFL—on Threadgill.

I spoke with three Mueller LFL stewards. Larkin Tackett started his Little Free Library on McBee Street more than seven years ago in memory of his mother, Wendy Wayne. Sylvia Martinez-Holly set up her library on the Antone wedge in 2013 to celebrate her toddler son, now a teen. And Ann Kitchen, whose husband caught me “stealing” from their Antone LFL last fall, inherited hers from the previous owners of the house.

“We were intrigued,” Kitchen says, “so we left it there!” Active LFL stewards, Kitchen and her husband replaced the original box with a bigger one, and they plan to have their young nieces paint it this summer.

Though each library has a unique origin story, they all embody the spirit of Mueller. As Tackett puts it, “These little libraries exemplify so much of what’s great about a neighborhood: sharing, learning, giving, receiving and community.”

NEIGHBORHOOD MOMENTS

Little Free Libraries not only are maintained by the community— although Kitchen and her husband do shop at Half-Price for new stock, all three stewards note that books rotate organically more effectively than they’d expected—but also in many cases built by the community.

“Despite having a kit to build the library, I didn’t have all the tools and struggled to the set the foundation,” says Tackett. “My neighbor Bill saw that I needed help and walked across the street to help me set the library up straight.” And Martinez-Holly’s neighbor Joe Denton helped her family prep their post for installation in 2013.

“I think LFLs are great reminders that reading is fun,” says Martinez-Holly. “They are a great way to share and discover wonderful stories or recipes with others.”

All three stewards reflect fondly on the serendipitous meetings and happy memories their Little Free Libraries have inspired almost more than on the books themselves.

Kitchen recalls greeting a mom who stopped by with three young kiddos in a wagon, then watching as each child found a book they wanted to take. And Martinez-Holly notes that, whenever she sees someone perusing, she makes a point to greet them with a friendly, “Hi, Neighbor!”

CREATING CONNECTIONS

“We have all types of visitors,” says Martinez-Holly. “It’s fun to see young kids and their parents finding books, as well as grownups on their own taking a walking or biking break.” Tackett notes that they’ve seen books for every stage of life passing through their Little Free Library. “We’ve seen books about pregnancy and books about aging. Readers of all ages seem to give and take from our library.”

Each of these stories reflects a larger truth about Mueller: that it’s a neighborhood rooted in connection. Whether it’s offering a helping hand with a post hole, dropping off a stack of outgrown picture books or pausing to chat with a neighbor while browsing the shelves, these little exchanges add up to something bigger. They remind us that community is built page by page, moment by moment.

So next time you pass a Little Free Library, take a look inside. You might find your next favorite book. Or maybe, like me, you’ll find a small, much-needed moment of connection with a neighbor you otherwise might never have met. 

LEARN MORE

Interested in setting up your own Little Free Library? Visit littlefreelibrary.org for many of the resources you need to get started.

BY SARAH WELCH