little libraries

[asakiyume]

I came across this great story elsewhere on the interwebs, an 89-year-old guy in Puchong (near Kuala Lumpur), Malaysia, who's set up reading stations in a public park. He also has helped libraries in Thailand and China. (Article here.)

There's also a short video linked in the article, which is great, because you can hear Mr Lee in his own words:

"I think Malaysia should follow China, where every village has one library. That's good."**



I was thinking of Little Free Libraries in this country. I think they're a great idea in places where there's foot traffic, where many different people might stop by and look over the books. I sometimes see them, though, in places where I wonder what traffic they'll get. On winding country roads with rather large houses situated far back from the roads on ample, gracious properties. And at the roadside, a little free library. But who's going to be walking by? I guess maybe the neighbors? But there's just not the same thickness of people.

Also, this guy thinks of himself as lending the books, not giving them away. He doesn't mind if you keep the book a month, six months, a year, and in fact he probably isn't going to be upset if a book doesn't come back, but the *idea* is that it will come back--and that means that the borrower has more connection with the site, and there's a sense of mutual responsibility. Plus the story says that people like to come and chat with him.

There can be more than one pattern! Little Free Libraries have a kind of spy-drop-box vibe. Ships passing in the night, taking books, maybe leaving books. That can be fun too. But I like the actual social interaction involved in what Mr Lee is doing.

Do any of you oversee a Little Free Library or frequent one (or more than one)? What's your experience been?


**Not exactly his words, which are Malaysian-English word order and has some special words I didn't catch, but that's how they're glossed and mainly what he said.

Comments

[sartorias]

My son's bio grandma a couple blocks away put one in her front yard (we can't as this is a condo area with association rules), and the books do come and go regularly. Just the other day when I was visiting she shouted out happily that a bunch of passing teens were looking the books over. I've put some books in there from time to time, but it's usually pretty full from neighbor contributions

[asakiyume]

That's great! It sounds like it's working just the way it's supposed to. It seems like it gets a lot of foot traffic, yes? Wonderful that the teens were looking over the books ^_^

[sartorias]

It does! She lives on a very long street-probably thirty houses each side--which serves as a conduit to a middle school and a high school. LOTS of foot traffic.

[heleninwales]

We don't have little free libraries like you have over there, but there are some in disused phone boxes. That works well because the books are protected from the weather and the libraries are situated in places where people will be passing by. Here's one in a nearby village.

[cmcmck]

This one's in Coalbrookdale just up the road from us:

[asakiyume]

Have you ever browsed in it? Taken a book or left one?

[asakiyume]

Have you ever browsed in one? (That one or another?)

[sovay]

Do any of you oversee a Little Free Library or frequent one (or more than one)? What's your experience been?

There are a couple of little free libraries near my parents' house and a couple in my own neighborhood and I have over the years had amazing luck with their contents. I have never maintained one myself.