Our Little Free Library

Our Little Free Library is located by the front sidewalk, just to the west of our Fairy Garden. It’s registered with The Little Free Library organization, the world’s largest book-sharing movement with more than 90,000 Little Free Libraries world-wide. If you aren’t familiar with this non-profit organization, you can read more about it here. The organization’s motto is, “take a book; share a book,” and that’s the basic explanation of how it works. You don’t need to leave a book to take one. Just check periodically to see if there is a book that you would like to read. If so, take it. If you have some extra books for any age, feel free to leave them in the Little Free Library.

In November 2020, our Little Free Library (LFL) was selected to participate in the first-ever “Read in Color” launch organized by the Little Free Library organization. We committed to share diverse books celebrating voices and stories of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer or Questioning (LGBTQ). Through a grant and donations, we received a launch packet of wonderful books for infants through adults. Some of the books were donated from publisher partners like HMH and Scholastic but quite a few were purchased from Twin Cities bookstores including Black Garnet, Birchbark, Magers & Quinn, and Moon Palace. In 2021 Little Free Libraries are expanding the launch of Read in Color to other cities and regions and have built into the model sourcing as many books as possible from local bookstores, especially those that are BIPOC-owned. We are very excited to be participating in this initiative!

Creating our Little Free Library, a 1:12 replica of our house, was a multi-year project fit in between many other activities. Erik served as contractor, designer, and carpenter, while our son, Stefan, used his 3-D printing skills to create exact miniatures of our house’s doors, windows, porch, and house trim. During more than one winter, the construction took place in the middle of our tiny kitchen, requiring some negotiations to access anything in the fridge! It is handy that Sara is already a librarian by training, although the lending is self-managed. Her primary role is to keep it looking festive and decorated for the seasons. You can see photos here of Halloween, winter, and spring decor. Don’t worry about any decorations falling off when you open the library door. A few items are bolted on, and the seasonal items are adhered with Museum Wax, a product with which Sara is familiar from growing up in earthquake country!