By Tammy Thornton
Have you ever driven by a unique looking mailbox with a window? If you had looked closely, instead of junk mail and bills, you would have found a treasury of books. Little Free Libraries are Hidden Gems in South Jersey.
Passersby can “Take a Book•Return a Book” from the Little Free Libraries—book exchange boxes that foster both a love of reading and a sense of community. Forget your beach read? They’ve got you covered, as many of these Little Free Libraries can be found along the coast.
First started in 2009, in Hudson, Wisconsin, Todd H. Bol designed and built the first shared book library as a way to honor the memory of his mother, a former schoolteacher and avid reader. As the idea caught on, Bols partnered with Rick Brooks to create more library boxes, and co-founded the nonprofit organization Little Free Library. They were inspired by the philanthropy of Andrew Carnegie, who had set a goal around the turn of the 20th century to fund the creation of 2,508 free public libraries across the English-speaking world. Brooks and Bol set their own goal to create enough Little Free Libraries to surpass Carnegie’s goal. Their goal was achieved a year and a half before their target date. Today, Little Free Libraries number over 90,000 registered book-sharing boxes in each of the 50 states and in more than 90 countries.
Often the libraries are started in memory of a loved one, as a community service, or for a Boy Scout or Girl Scout project. Ocean City High School graduate, Daniel Millar, started his Little Free Library after seeing a free book giveaway table sponsored by Ocean City Free Public Library. He decided to build a box as his Eagle Scout Project. It now stands on Seaspray Road at the entryway of the beach in Ocean City.
The Feldman family of Linwood were inspired to start their library (located on Berkshire Avenue) in the aftermath of Sandy when they knew many homes and books would have been destroyed. The project was part of their volunteer youth group, Peer Partners, which started in 1997. This organization was created to encourage youth volunteerism and activism in the community and around the world. Amanda Feldman, a Mainland graduate, gained her first volunteer experience by helping at the Linwood Public Library when she was just a kid. She has always been passionate about reading and wants to share the books she’s read with others. She now works between London and New York, but loves coming home to this area. Feldman feels that traveling around the world has given her amazing perspective but said, “I still want to give back to SoJo.”
Little Free Libraries are truly “hidden” gems. Not all Little Free Libraries are registered, and even those that do register do not always submit their library to be placed on the organization’s world map. If you find a book exchange box, share the news of these little gems with others.
For more information on starting your own book exchange box, go to: littlefreelibrary.org.
Tammy Thornton is a mom of four, a substitute teacher, and a Sunday school teacher. She is passionate about gardening and cooking, and loves the beach.
