Having spent some years working in libraries as an academic librarian I found this post most interesting. As I’m sure you are aware, I like nothing more than seeking out libraries wherever I travel and have come across many gems over the years. Returning to your post on miniature libraries, did you know that quite a few of our old iconic red telephone boxes have now been turned into depositories for books and they seem to be working well and kept well stocked, clean and tidy and free from vandalism. I hope you are enjoying a pleasant weekend. It’s a bright, sunny morning here as I sit in a pub window tucking into my Sunday morning breakfast with my family.
What a tremendous through — the telephone boxes as libraries! I’ll look out for some online. Thanks so much. Happy to think of you enjoying a sunny day. Sunny here, and coffee’s ready!
Next time I pass a phone box library I’ll try and remember to stop and take a photo for you.
Thank you. Thanks for both reading and commenting.
I love stopping at Little Free Libraries and checked out several on my trip. Even though I don’t always have a book to give at the time, I put some in later. My community has one of the busiest libraries per capita in the nation, and we also have lots of Little Free Libraries! Both can thrive!
Agreed. A library’s much more than a shelf of books, but the neighborhood reach and person-to-person connectedness of the LFL concept is powerful, too. Thanks for the comment.
I wondered when the Free Little Libraries began, since I’ve only heard of them in the past few years. I found this interesting history, and thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Blogging friends in England and Finland have mentioned them, and even established their own.
The concept’s not new, of course, although the form has evolved. In the cruising world, the custom of exchanging books is decades old: so old that even Captain Queeg might have been able to borrow a book, had he been so inclined.
Thanks! “Ice, beer, books” sums up some ethos of the cruising life, although one might need to add “music,” at least for some.
I’d forgotten about the book stashes in and near marinas. I’ve encountered them in the lake and river ports of the Great Lakes, primarily Michigan. After all, there’s nothing better than sitting on a boat with a book.
Note the addendum I added to the post just as your “like” arrived, about the traditional UK red telephone boxes being used there as free book stalls.
What a wonderful use of those telephone boxes. It makes perfect sense.
Nice pictures of the little free libraries. There’s 1 of them I know about in the small city where I live.
Thanks for that. Yes, they’re everywhere. Just spotted one a few miles from my house, on a route I drive a couple of times a week … not certain if it’s always been there, or if it’s new.