There are now over 20,000 registered Little Free Libraries worldwide…a feat that we have accomplished together in about 2 1/2 years. That’s crazy. Holy cow do we feel honored to take part in the creation of such an awesome network of book lovers around the world!
Happy Holidays and thank you for all that you have done to share the joy of reading – this cute 1-minute video says it all.
As we roll into 2015, we’d like to share some tips from stewards who have learned what makes a successful Little Free Library. This can be your best year yet!
Look what we’ve accomplished together!
Jean Fischer is a freelance writer and former editor and creative director at Golden Books Publishing Company in Wisconsin. She also has a Little Free Library at her home and has some great tips for new stewards.
She wisely stocks her Library with treats for our four-legged companions and quickly learned that children’s books are a hot commodity. Perhaps Jean’s best piece of advice is the realization that it is not her Little Free Library but rather it is everyone’s Little Free Library. She’s like a librarian sitting behind a desk…always ready to help, but letting her neighbors and friends enjoy and use the Library freely.
Swapna Krishna (we previously shared her excellent post on how to host a Little Library Takeover) is a contributing editor for Book Riot and blogger and book reviewer at S. Krishna’s Books.
She has an entire section of her website dedicated to her Little Free Library, which we highly recommend. It’s chock full of tips for how to be a good Library steward.
For example, don’t forget to leave room in your Library for book donations and just give in and recycle old books that nobody wants to read. She also writes about an incident of book “theft” and how to be an awesome Little Library patron.
We also shared some advice from Diane Kirkpatrick, a steward in Louisville, Kentucky whose Little Library is so popular that it literally overflows with books. Diane devised some brilliant outreach tactics that anyone can use and will help you maintain a popular, well-used Little Free Library for years to come.
We hope these experienced stewards help you have a fantastic 2015.
P.S. Did you know? Last year with your help, we were able to donate hundreds of Libraries to communities in need and provide support to the growing network of over 20,000 stewards.
If you love Little Free Libraries and the resources on our website, please consider a tax-deductible donation to help us keep the movement going. Donate here.
Want more tips and advice? Find more posts in the Rebuild and Revitalize series here.
Thanks, Little Free Library, for linking to my blog post. My LFL brings much joy to my neighbors, to me—and, maybe especially, to the neighborhood dogs. I just restocked the doggie treats this morning 🙂
Nice story and very creative…However, I don’t think I am going to put pet treats out. At age 85, I have all I can do to keep book stock going for humans. You must live in an affluent neighborhood…unlike mine.
Jean, I love your idea of including a jar of dog treats in your LFL. I’m going to steal that idea. I’ve been frustrated because we have a lot of dog walkers in the neighborhood, but they never stop to look in the LFL. Now they will have to.
Can you give us please an update on the map’s revitalization so we can easily locate LFLs in our community and places where we travel?
Hi Hope,
We’re working on it! Setting up a new mapping system ties into a database overhaul which is what we have been working on for the past several months. We’re getting closer and I’m optimistic that we’ll have an easy-to-search, updated map by early 2015.
I have mini library in front of my house but I dont belong to your organization because I didn’t know you existed.I get tons of books (distribute them to senior centers, prison and private ppl) anddo not need any returns.I also keep school supplies , pencils, sharpeners, erasers, markers, retractable pencils and playing cards.Thx for giving me an idea on doggie biscuits. Im on my way to the store……….
Margaret,
Wow it sounds like you’re really providing a service to your community – well done! We’d love to see your Library registered and up on the Appendix and new world map coming in 2015.
On a couple of occasions someone has taken every book in my LFL.
To deter book theft I had a rubber stamp made (under $30 w/shipping), that says
“Property of Little Free Library.” I stamp both outside covers a number of times and this seems to work.
Hi Jerry,
You’re not alone – we have heard from several stewards who have had trouble with book “theft” and we actually wrote some blog posts on the topic which we hope you find useful: https://littlefreelibrary.org/category/vandalism/
I heard from another steward in my area that books are taken and then resold. So, I bought a stamp that says “Little Free Library”. I stamp the inside cover of all the books that come to my library.
Last summer I read about LFL’s being emptied and along with the email was an invitation to download a pdf for standard mailing lables that say “Always a Gift, Never for Sale.” We hae been putting those lables on all the books that go into the LFL’s along with another lable that we have always put on the books for children and young people that says, “This book is compliments of the Friends of the Library. Read and feel free to share with a friend.” That indicates the gift idea and ties it to sharing with someone else. We were doing that before we heard about the LFL concept and have continued the practice. The idea of the lable is that it can not only tell a book buyer that this book was meant to be a gift, but it can cover up a name or other marking inside the book. (We usually put them inside the front cover, but on books from our library or school system, the lable covers the old book call number and bar code.) In Wichita Falls, Texas, we have 8 LFL’s, one not registered, and the Friends organization puts books into each one monthly, sometimes removing something that may have gotten wet. Our area United Way has helped us with books for the youngest children and we have actually purchased remainder books for the LFL’s and our in-library used book store.
We also have a Dr. Seuss Birthday Party on the first Saturday of March and every child who comes through the door gets to play games, hear “Celebrity” readers read Dr. Seuss, and then get birthday cake, punch and a free, new book. Needless to say, it’s our most expensive program for the year since no Dr. Seuss books are ever in the remainder market. Also a Friends tradition is putting children’s books in pediatrician’s and clinic’s offices for the children to read (and take home, if they wish). This also predates the LFL program here. The United Way has suggested locations for LFL’s where there are a lot of children at risk of not graduating with their peers (Low-income, disadvantaged somehow) and because of the need, we are in the process of adding an additional 8 LFL’s here in North Texas.
Since opening in May, 2014, it is a total pleasure to see how well used the LFL is. People leave more than they take.
Now in Mid December, anticipating snow and cold, I wonder if it is ok to leave the books in place. The LFL is water tight with some minimal air circulation from below. I’d like to allow access through the winter, but not if the books would suffer from extreme cold. If I decide to wrapt the LFL in a tarp over winter, do I need to remove the books? Has anyone had experience through a severe winter?
Lovely to see so many Libraries the world over. All good. Happy New Year,
Dawn
I have been rotating my books about once every week and a half, and I am hoping that this will prevent the books from getting too damp or damaged from the cold. So far my library seems watertight and no snow has gotten inside.
My husband “made” a library…(he is NOT a carpenter). However, it does the job. We registered it & placed it in a small park in our community. It is easily accessible by car or on foot and is stocked totally with large print books for our seniors & everyone else who reads a lot & appreciates larger print & spacing.
We now have 3 libraries in our little town, & I do mean little…about 400 people. I have a journal in each. So far, nothing but good comments.
Am considering a separate library for our dog park.
Thanks for sharing this. I’m curious to know more about how the average number of visits was determined. Can you provide more information on how the data was collected?
Hi Kathleen,
Thanks for asking! Little Free Library co-founder Rick Brooks and I have spent the last 3-5 years speaking with thousands of Little Library stewards around the world.
We looked at data from a survey that went out to several thousand stewards in the fall of 2014 and added in our own anecdotal experience over the past several years. We agreed that an average of 5 visits/day to any given LFL was a fair (and likely very low-end) estimate.
This is far from a scientific method type of study, as you can tell. It is one of our great challenges trying to pull statistics from an inherently grassroots, free-flowing worldwide movement.
The 5 visits/day statistic is one I am very confident in and wouldn’t put forward unless I thought we could back it up with hard data if necessary.
Hi Megan,
Thanks so much for elucidating. I agree. It’s a massive challenge to capture data on little libraries. But what a fantastic one! With the right resources, creativity, and commitment, I think it’s definitely possible to create rigorous and informative studies of how and why little libraries are created and used.
Are the results from the survey available? How was it conducted? I would love to know more about that study!