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Redfairen

(1,276 posts)
Tue Dec 25, 2012, 02:40 PM Dec 2012

Little Free Library



It started as a simple tribute to his mother, a teacher and bibliophile. Todd Bol put up a miniature version of a one-room schoolhouse on a post outside his home in this western Wisconsin city, filled it with books and invited his neighbors to borrow them.

They loved it, and began dropping by so often that his lawn became a gathering spot. Then a friend in Madison put out some similar boxes and got the same reaction. More home-crafted libraries began popping up around Wisconsin's capital.

Three years later, the whimsical boxes are a global sensation. They number in the thousands and have spread to at least 36 countries, in a testimonial to the power of a good idea, the simple allure of a book and the wildfire of the internet.

"It's weird to be an international phenomenon," said Bol, a former international business consultant who finds himself at the head of what has become the Little Free Libraries organization. The book-sharing boxes are being adopted by a growing number of groups as a way of promoting literacy in inner cities and underdeveloped countries.

Each little library invites passersby to "take a book, return a book."



http://www.seattlepi.com/news/us/article/Wis-man-s-Little-Free-Library-copied-worldwide-4145047.php#ixzz2G5fNqYiN
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Little Free Library (Original Post) Redfairen Dec 2012 OP
Delightful! NYC_SKP Dec 2012 #1
This is in the NYTimes too, and such Lifelong Protester Dec 2012 #2
what an absolutely wonderful idea! thank you so much for posting this. niyad Dec 2012 #3
I walk by one on my walk with my dog Lance. warrior1 Dec 2012 #4
Looking forward to a world with a person like Todd Bol for every social pervert, Judi Lynn Dec 2012 #5
Meanwhile in another Wisconsin village... postulater Dec 2012 #6
Can you do this with e-books? n/t PoliticAverse Dec 2012 #7
I wonder what I would need to do to start one of these in my little town? n/t littlemissmartypants Dec 2012 #8
Thank you. littlemissmartypants Dec 2012 #9

Lifelong Protester

(8,421 posts)
2. This is in the NYTimes too, and such
Tue Dec 25, 2012, 02:57 PM
Dec 2012

a cool idea. I also have seen folks using old unused phone boxes for this (that someone jazzes up). I love this idea.

niyad

(112,064 posts)
3. what an absolutely wonderful idea! thank you so much for posting this.
Tue Dec 25, 2012, 03:23 PM
Dec 2012

I live next door to a library (LUCKY ME) but will share this idea with friends.

note: I am sure others do this, but, per a suggestion to the manager, one of our local starbucks, and several other coffeehouses in the area, have these free libraries.

warrior1

(12,325 posts)
4. I walk by one on my walk with my dog Lance.
Tue Dec 25, 2012, 03:29 PM
Dec 2012

It's on "T" street in Sacramento. They say take one and/or leave one.

Nice folks.

Judi Lynn

(160,076 posts)
5. Looking forward to a world with a person like Todd Bol for every social pervert,
Tue Dec 25, 2012, 03:34 PM
Dec 2012

every right-winger, every greedy old partisan.

It may take a while, but then we'll know the world is headed for true freedom, as the species will be cleansing itself.

Thank you, Redfairen. Welcome to D.U.

postulater

(5,075 posts)
6. Meanwhile in another Wisconsin village...
Tue Dec 25, 2012, 03:36 PM
Dec 2012

the Little Free Library has been shut down.

http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/village-slaps-endnote-on-little-libraries-2f7j416-178453671.html

"Avi and Dannette Lank chose the permission route when they decided to place one of those trendy little free libraries in their front yard, you know the ones where people stop by to take a book or leave a book.

Now they wish they had just quietly put the darn thing up and taken their chances.

The Village of Whitefish Bay shot down their plans. Worse yet, the village is ordering a church to take down the suburb's only existing little library, which wasn't bothering anybody."

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