Impact Library Program Steward Stories, March 2025

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 10 Impact Library Packages to applicants from schools, libraries, and nonprofit organizations in March 2025. These new Little Free Libraries will be expanding book access from Alden, MN, to Kennesaw, GA, and many areas in between! Learn more about where we’ve placed Impact Library Program awards over the years.

Niki O. — #138001 in Los Angeles, CA

“We have been very happy to keep the library full as our home has an elementary school at one end of the street, a junior high school at the other end of the block, and two daycares around the corner. We see many children with their parents using the library every day. We’ve even had teachers walk by and thank us because they recommend to their students to come and get reading materials.

We think this little library is particularly impactful because the nearest bookstore is almost an hour’s drive away. We also keep a big garden of vegetables and fruits, so we’ve added on a couple boxes and shelves to share our homegrown veggies with the neighborhood. It’s been great to see folks taking and leaving items. It is become a great resource for our community kids adults, neighbors, and the unhoused alike. South central Los Angeles is one of the most densely populated communities, and we have low per capita car ownership, meaning most of our residents walk and use public transportation. While this makes it hard to get to the far away in more affluent neighborhoods with things like bookstores, it does mean that our little library gets a lot more traffic.”

Eleanor G. — #169962 in Everett, MA

“We hope to bring people together and build community. We hope that as people share and frequent, the organizations and locations get more exposure. We hope that through ideas and activities, more ideas and activities and collaborations grow over the years. We receive amazing feedback and are grateful for those who keep an eye out in the snow, and drop a book or 20 by the house, or send a coupon or quick Venmo for an event or bring food to share when coming to participate in an event. We run into people we don’t know that know who we are and what they do and they tell us stories of books they have taken and they thank us. This is what is it all about and we look forward to continuing those experiences for years to come!”

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.