Little Free Library’s Impact Library Program provides no-cost Little Free Library book-sharing boxes to underserved communities where they can make a meaningful impact on book access and literacy engagement. This month we heard from two stewards who were previously granted libraries through our Impact Library Program and wanted to share their stories.
Additionally, we granted 29 Impact Library Packages to applicants from schools, libraries, and nonprofit organizations in July 2024. These new Little Free Libraries will be expanding book access from Linden, AL to Tonopah, NV and many areas in between! Learn more about where we’ve placed Impact Library Program awards over the years.
Susan S. — #179593 in Huntsville, AL
“I’ve lived in an underserved, low-to-mid income area of Huntsville, Alabama for about 5 years — a purposeful downsizing to carry me into old age. I’ve wanted to install a Little Free Library from day one, but waited until I retired at the end of 2023 to actually pursue it, applying for an Impact Grant to cover the library. This neighborhood is “land locked” — surrounded on four sides by major, very busy roads, which limits the range of neighborhood children or even adults who lack transportation. My street is a common shortcut to a nearby row of stores bordering one of those main thoroughfares, so there is a good bit of foot and bike traffic in front of my house, year-round. It’s also a Title 1 neighborhood, with a nearby elementary school that has some of the lowest reading scores in the area. So we need a library!
“The only real obstacle I’ve encountered since erecting the LFL a month ago has been (surprisingly!) people NOT knowing what it is, or how it works! I had several conversations with neighbors, when I was digging the hole to install the support post, who had no idea what an LFL was, and in fact after the first week I added a sign to the front door to more clearly explain that you should “Take One or Leave One”. A challenge I hadn’t anticipated! Still, the library is starting to get activity, and I refresh/replenish the contents about once a week. The library is quite well supported by friends, who bring me bags of books every time they see me, so I do not anticipate ever having a supply issue! I’d originally targeted children’s books, but now that some in the neighborhood know what this is, more adult books are leaving the library, particularly mysteries and thrillers. As you can see from the pictures, I repainted the library supplied by the Impact Grant — it’s now a quite noticeable, bright green — we joke that the nearby army base pilots can navigate by this “beacon” library, hard to miss from air or land!
“On the sides of the library, there are spines of classic books from Banned Book lists, and I try to keep banned books in the LFL as often as possible. When I was a kid 1000 years ago, reading was a critical part of my life, but I was also lucky that I lived just blocks from the town library. My hope for this Little Free Library is that even one child in the neighborhood discovers it as a resource and gets lit up about all the worlds available to them in between the covers of a book. If this can light that kind of reading passion in just one child, then I will call my LFL a lifetime success.”
Elisa B. — #176019 in Farmington, CA
“Farmington Elementary has added a “Tiny Little Library” to the campus. The library is located next to the flagpole and is open and accessible to all members of our community. The sign on the library says: “Take a book, Leave a book, Love a book, Keep a book” and sums up how we would like to see this little library be used. The library will be stocked with age-appropriate children’s books that can be taken, read, and returned or kept for a little longer if desired. We ask that community members bring any books to be donated to the little library to our office first so that we can make sure that they are appropriate for our students.”
Help us bring Little Free Libraries full of books where they’re needed most. Donate today! When you donate, you help us provide libraries to communities like these.