Little Free Library Big Book Access Kickstarter Campaign
met its fundraising goal last week to help get books into the hands of those who need them most. Created by Todd Bol, the campaign celebrated the 3rd anniversary of the non-profit which he started as a tribute to his mother who loved books and loved to share her passion for reading.
A couple years ago I sponsored Little Free Library #4094 in Ithaca, NY, where Amanda Jaros is the steward. Amanda loves to read books and she also writes. Literary Mama recently published her creative nonfiction essay, Temporary Custody.
I recently moved back to Appleton, Wisconsin, where I was a teenager in the 1970s. I didn’t appreciate then how much this place is a city of literacy. I want to share the fun up of taking up residence in a neighborhood of readers.
My first apartment in 1976 was two blocks from Jacobs Meat Market, started in 1945 by brothers John and Leonard Jacobs when on nearly every corner in the city you could find a grocer. My neighborhood grocer again, Jacobs is across the street from the 602 Club. In the backyard there is a large picnic table which fills every afternoon with young neighbors at the book oasis.
Across from City Park in Appleton there is a Little Free Library which looks like the steward’s house. Every neighborhood has one or more. Even empty lots have Little Free Libraries. Bright not blight.
Summer is a great time to walk and bike and skate past Little Free Libraries in your community. Take one. Leave one.
Writing and Listening — an Interview with Brooke Randel
As a young girl Brooke Randel knew little about the Holocaust—just that it was a catastrophe in which millions were murdered, and that her grandma Golda Indig barely escaped that fate. But her Bubbie never spoke about what happened, and the two spent most of their time together making pleasant memories: baking crescent roll cookies, playing gin rummy, and watching Baywatch. Until an unexpected phone call when Golda said, out of the blue: “You should write about my life. What happened in the war.” What results is a fascinating memoir—about one woman’s harrowing survival, and another’s struggle to excavate theRead more…
There’s one of these things on the trails near EcoVillage where I walk all the time. I always love peeking at it. Now I know what it is. Cheers!
Robin, that would be Little Free Library #4094 which I happily sponsored and Amanda Jaros is the steward. Take one, leave one.
You introduced me to the concept Jill. I am having fun finding these little treasures in my travels. My sister sent me pictures of 2 in the Seattle area that she stumbled upon. One even had a live rooster as the ‘ steward’.
My kind of scavenger hunt! Seattle is a city that loves books. Enjoyed reading your blog, Little Free Library First Donation, about your discovery in Amish country.
Dear Jill, I love your photos and story about Little Free Libraries. I already knew about them, but you have inspired me to put one in front of our house in Trumansburg, NY. The part I don’t know is how or why they are numbered. Should I get mine numbered so that people can keep track of how many there are?
On a personal note Jill, Anne K. uploaded my book as an eBook on Amazon, I still haven’t decided what to do about getting it printed as a real book because it will be so expensive – thanks to the 106 color illustrations. I’m thinking of trying Kickstarter.
Sounds like you are very happy back in Wisconsin, I’m so glad!
Annie Campbell