Fresh Connections – The Parfitt Way Blog

Before the Arson

In 2009 a man named Tod Bol in Hudson Wisconsin came up with an idea to honor his mother, a teacher who loved books.  He built a replica of a school house, mounted it on a pole in front of his house and filled it with books.  Thus, the Little Free Library Project began.  As he watched his neighbors stop by to pick up or drop off a book, he realized that not only did the little libraries have the mission of increasing literacy (a passion of his mother’s) but they also served as very effective community builders.  He talked with his friend Rick Brooks and together they launched an effort to spread the idea.  In the following three years, Little Free Libraries have shown up in just about every state in the USA, plus nearly a dozen other countries – including Pakistan, India, The Republic of Congo and Ghana.  These tiny libraries, found in neighborhoods all over the world, provide books, conversation and connection for people who may have lived within blocks of each other, and never before spoken face to face.  All it takes is a wooden, water-proof box, an initial supply of books and someone to be the steward (usually the creator of the library) to assume responsibility for upkeep. Little Free Libraries can be found in all sorts of neighborhoods; cul-de-sacs, strip malls, schools and community centers. Correctional facilities in Wisconsin and Oregon have launched inmate projects where they build the little libraries and donate them to nearby neighborhoods and schools.  For an interactive world map showing the location of each LFL – click here.

Bol and Brooks have stated that their goal is to out-build Andrew Carnegie – who is responsible for over 2,000 libraries.  And they have had a very good start.  Read about their success and testimonials on their website.

On Bainbridge Island, Little Free Library #892 was installed and filled with books on June 1, 2012.  The Library was located on the Habitat for The Humanities Shepard Path.  Just 5 weeks later, vandals burned it (and the books inside) to ashes.  Creator and Steward Donna Dahlquist was, of course, heartbroken.  As were her neighbors and friends.  She contacted the founders of the project, who immediately sent her a kit to rebuild.  Acts of vandalism against the libraries are just about unheard of.  In the true spirit of putting her values to work in the community, Donna’s first FaceBook posting was:  “To all those saddened by this senseless destruction, I ask you to commit an act of joyful kindness to tip the ‘life is good’ scale back to where it ought to be.”

With the help of the donated kit, roofing supplied by Jennifer Lawrence and books donated by friends and neighbors, the new Little Library was opened on August 13^th.  The Shepard Path location is the same, so stop by, borrow a book, leave a book and get to know a neighbor or two.

After the Arson