A little girl heaves a metal stool half her size and a third her body weight over to the doors of a small structure in the shape of a house, perched on a post. After setting the stool down, she climbs on top, stands and opens the doors of the little house that is now within reach.
She begins to search inside for her reward: a book to take home and read.
This story and many more—including that of a 4-year-old who stops by the same little free library she’s been visiting since she was an infant, and that of an immigrant father who looks for kids’ books to read with his daughter as he learns English himself—give meaning to the stewards of these free book-sharing boxes. It shows them their contribution to the community has fostered relationships in their neighborhoods and the greater Madison area.
A little free library is a book-sharing box, usually located in a walkable area of a community, for people to take a book or leave a book for free. Book-sharing boxes that are registered with the Little Free Library organization are officially called a little free library and receive a plaque with a charter number.
The Little Free Library nonprofit, based in St. Paul, Minn., values access, collaboration, equity, respect and transparency. These qualities are embodied by the people in the community who play a role in the project’s continued success, whether it is a little free library steward, someone who takes a book or someone who leaves a book.
Little Free Library’s history starts in Hudson, Wis., in 2009 when Todd Bol built the first little free library as a tribute to his mother. Prompted by his community’s response, Bol built more boxes, and Rick Brooks, an outreach program manager at UW–Madison, worked with him to grow the cause. Together, in 2012, they co-founded what is now the Little Free Library organization. Earlier this year, the organization registered its 200,000th little free library and it now spans 128 countries and all 50 states in the U.S.
Little Libraries, Big Heroes is a picture book written by Miranda Paul and illustrated by John Parra. A page about Todd Bol, the co-founder of Little Free Libraries, creating the first little free library is pictured above. Photo by Alyssa Lutker.
Little Free Library’s website points to research showing that more than 30 million adults cannot read or write above a third-grade level, while 61% of U.S. children living at or below the poverty line have no books at home. “Studies have repeatedly shown that books in the hands of children have a meaningful impact on improving literacy,” the website says.
Increasing literacy access
Little Free Libraries works to provide a solution through 24/7 access to books and programs that help bring books and Little Free Libraries to underserved communities.
Mary Buchholz, a little free library steward in Madison, became more aware of the importance of literacy when she was a Fulbright fellow in Japan and experienced what it felt like to be only semi-literate because of her limited Japanese language skills.
“I really felt that I couldn’t fully understand or experience Japanese culture and understand what was happening around me,” Buchholz said. “As a steward of a little free library, it allows me to provide opportunities for people I may never meet,” she added, and “knowing the likelihood that someone will be a fuller participant in our society just makes me feel really good about the Library and its mission.”
Pete Shay, another little free library steward, appreciated the idea of little free libraries providing book access in more places.
“When I was young, there was only one library, and as a kid, I had to get on my bike and pedal a long way,” Shay said, “so I thought books anywhere seemed like a really cool idea.”
Madison Reading Project, a nonprofit organization dedicated to connecting the Madison community to free books and literary resources, has also started to build book-sharing boxes, some of which are officially registered with Little Free Libraries.
Melissa Hornung, Madison Reading Project’s community access coordinator, helps to organize, install and maintain Little Free Libraries with such partners as organizations and schools that would like them, especially in areas that may have less access to books.
According to Hornung, Madison Reading Project started building Little Free Libraries when the pandemic paused a lot of its face-to-face services, such as book buses and school or community events.
“We saw a need to get books out into the community, and Little Free Libraries was kind of a natural way to do that, because anybody could access it without being face-to-face,” Hornung said.
Many Little Free Libraries stewards try to curate their collections for the members of their community who are using them. Araceli Esparza and her family are bilingual, so they bought a bilingual plaque for their little free library in their East Side neighborhood and try to keep it stocked with Spanish books.
Melinda Gustafson Gervasi tries to curate some of the books in her little free library to help increase social awareness in her University Hill Farms neighborhood.
Gustafson Gervasi intentionally buys books by underrepresented authors to promote their voices in her library, including “White Fragility” by Robin DiAngelo. “The thing about the little free libraries is reading something that you might not be inclined to read and pushing yourself to read outside of what you read in general,” Gustafson Gervasi said.
Starting conversations and building relationships
Many little free library stewards say that the conversations their book boxes spark with people in their community are an added benefit. David Wallner and Anne Katz spend a lot of time on their front porch and like to chat with people browsing their little free library.
“People walk by and say ‘Hello’ and I’ll say, ‘Hi, how are you? Where do you live in the neighborhood? What do you like to read? They’re community builders,” Wallner said. It’s a good connector for a lot of people.”
Gustafson Gervasi also has conversations with browsers of her little free library. “When it’s in your front yard and you’re gardening or you’re mowing your lawn or you’re bringing your groceries, it’s an easy way for someone to talk to you about something,” Gustafson Gervasi said.
She sees little free libraries as a way of connecting others, too.
“My hope with the little free library was that people would get out and walk. A friend of mine has a route that she does where she walks by little free libraries just to sort of see what’s in there,” Gustafson Gervasi said. “It’s a way to maybe get people out and mingling and at least have the chance to interact and cross paths with one another.”
Marie Knibbe held a kickoff event party in her neighborhood the day she installed her little free library, knocking on neighbors’ doors to hand out flyers beforehand.
“We wanted to really emphasize that this is a community thing, so we wanted them to feel part of it from the beginning,” Knibbe said.
Knibbe’s friends and neighbors came to the kickoff event to enjoy cookies and conversation, and some brought books to put in the newly installed library.
Beyond conversations, little free libraries have cultivated relationships and partnerships within the Madison community.
Wallner and his friend Joe built a little free library for the Monticello Public Library after stopping and offering to while they were on a bike ride one day.
“It’s really cute and they took our picture and put it in the small-town newspaper,” Wallner said.
Madison Reading Project partnered with Madison Area Builders Association and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Dane County’s Mckenzie Regional Workforce Center to build and install little free libraries with teenagers as an educational experience.
Chad Lawler, executive director of the Madison Area Builders Association, prompted the partnership when he reached out to Hornung at Madison Reading Project.
“I reached out to the Madison Reading Project and asked ‘What kind of opportunities are there to get construction-related books into the hands of youth?’” Lawler said.
After recognizing that Madison Reading Project’s expertise was in books, not building, and that Madison Area Builders Association expertise was in building, not books, they formed a partnership in which the association helped build little free libraries, and Madison Reading Project helped get trade books for the association to give to youth.
The Madison Area Builders Association, which works with Boys and Girls Clubs members at the McKenzieRegional Workforce Center, established a program there in which teens helped build little free libraries, designing, constructing and/or decorating the structures, Lawler said.
Each teen involved in the program then received three free books from Madison Reading Project.
“You could see the excitement that came from a lot of the [youth] participants. They’d be driving down the street, see a little free library [and say], ‘Oh, is that mine? Did I build that one?’” said Lawler, who added that some of the young builders put their initials inside or underneath the book-sharing boxes.
Other community organization volunteers who have helped build the little free libraries include members of an engineering fraternity at UW–Madison.
Unique builds and personalizing
Some little free library stewards like to personalize their library. Whether it is by decorating their boxes with repurposed materials, hand-painting designs or adding other features, such as a bench or hook for a dog’s leash, stewards can bring a unique touch to the experience.
Ann Lacy’s daughter painted designs on her little free library (above left). Anita Hubanks painted rosemaling on her little free library (above middle). Ryan Paulsrud added a graphic with the name of his business, Alphagraphics, pictured on the side of his little free library (above right). Photos by Alyssa Lutker.
Cynthia Nolen made her little free library with her husband, Paul Abramson, by repurposing a cabinet her father had made for her for Girl Scout camp.
“My father was a carpenter and quite creative and he made me this really nice cabinet,” which after years of not knowing quite what to do with it but not wanting to throw it away, suddenly seemed perfect for a book box, Nolen said.
A friend added a roof to the cabinet, and then Nolen and Abramson added license plates from their mothers’ vehicles and their own to the roof.
“It was a way to kind of honor our mothers,” Nolen said.
Lou Host-Jablonski built his little free library as a replica of his own unique home. As an architect for the Design Coalition Inc., Host-Jablonski lives in a home made with straw and clay, designed for energy efficiency.
Madison Reading Project installed a special Dog Man little free library at Lakeview Elementary School, based on the popular series of kids books by Dav Pilkey. The Dog Man book-sharing box was awarded to the organization as part of a partnership with Scholastic and Little Free Library, and they held a celebration at the school for the unveiling. Each student got their own copy of the newest Dog Man book.
Madison Reading Project was awarded a Dog Man little free library through a partnership with Scholastic and Little Free Library. Madison Reading Project’s Melissa Hornung (pictured far left) installed the library at Lakeview Elementary School; there was a celebration that followed (pictured right). Photos provided by Madison Reading Project.
For many people, little free libraries serve as a bridge to building a stronger community. They provide a way to engage in conversations with neighbors, build relationships with other community members, and encourage improved literacy skills.
“There are great acts of kindness that come through little free libraries,” Buchholz said. “The person who leaves books, the person who reads a book and shares it with someone else, then it becomes more integral in the fabric of the community. That was one of our missions in establishing that little free library… to be part of the fabric of the community.”
If you are interested in starting their own little free library, you can go online and order a kit to put together and install your box with cement or by digging a hole. You can also craft your own from scratch. Whichever you choose, make sure to register it online to be able to officially call it a little free library. The organization also offers advice on how to protect your little free library from weather, resellers and inappropriate brochures and other literary content.
Gallery of local Little Free Library stewards
Araceli Esparza, 48, grew up in Madison and has returned on and off, but came to stay in 2016. She is a consultant for nonprofit organizations, helping museums, libraries and art centers engage with marginalized communities. For Esparza, the little free library represents more than just literacy and community: “It’s a testimony of home ownership. We were homeless for two years after a major robbery, and so to me it’s a testimony of being OK and making it past a really bad part of my life. What saved me all the time was reading, being creative and building community. I feel like the free little library really kind of gives all of that,” Esparza said. Photo provided by Nunez family. 
Ryan Paulsrud, 47, is the current owner of AlphaGraphics Middleton, a print shop that provides marketing and printing services for Madison Reading Project. Paulsrud installed a little free library outside of his business five years ago, after COVID-19 started, and he sees people use the library multiple times a day because it is located near apartments and kids pass by walking to the convenience store next door. “There is no reason not to [start a little free library]. I can’t think of a single downside,” Paulsrud said. Photo provided by Alyssa Lutker. 
Melinda Gustafson Gervasi, 51, is a Madison native and owns and operates Gustafson Gervasi Law Office. She set up her little free library in 2018. Gustafon Gervasi sees little free libraries as an opportunity for community members to have something in common: a book you have read. “Our democracy requires us to gather and to communicate and to talk civilly about what we agree on and don’t agree on. I think it’s easier for us to embrace each other when we have things in common,” Gustafon Gervasi said. Photo provided by Alyssa Lutker. 
Ann Lacy, 66, is a Madison native and retired librarian who spends her time volunteering in her community. While she didn’t install the little free library outside of her current home, she saw it as “a sign” when she and her husband were looking to move because they left behind the little free library they installed at their previous home. Since moving, Lacy’s daughter has added paintings to the outside walls of their library. “I just love the idea of keeping books in circulation and out of landfills, so the Little Free Library model is just wonderful for me,” Lacy said. “It’s just like an extension of libraries and public parks. It just seems like a public good.” Photo provided by Alyssa Lutker. 
Anita Hubanks, 95, was gifted her little free library by her kids for her 85th birthday. Hubanks enjoys rosemaling, a traditional Norwegian art form featuring floral motifs, which she painted on the sides of her little free library. She also added a bench for walkers to rest and a hook for dog leashes. Photo provided by Alyssa Lutker. 
Audrey Shay, 47, and Pete Shay, 57, installed their little free library over a decade ago when their daughters — Helen, now 15, and Bridget, now 13 — were learning to read. Audrey’s mother made their little free library, painting it for the family. The Shay family discussed how you never know what you might find in a little free library. “It is an entirely different experience and can be more exciting” than browsing at a regular library, Helen said. Photo provided by Alyssa Lutker. 
Anne Katz, 67, and David Wallner, 76, have lived in the Tenney-Lapham neighborhood for over four decades. They met in 1984 in the apartment building across the street from the home they have owned since 1997. Their little free library was built by their late friend Joe. “We look at that library and we think of our friend who made it, who is gone. Now that’s a nice thing, because he was a good friend and we miss him,” Katz said. Katz and Wallner host concerts in their home and invite community members they see using their little free library. Photo provided by Alyssa Lutker. 
Cynthia M. Nolen, 73, has lived in Madison for 38 years and is the owner of CaringHands Massage and Bodywork. Nolen and her husband, Paul Abramson, built their little free library in 2014 by repurposing a cabinet her father, Harry, built for her for Girl Scout Camp when she was a kid. “I think it just encourages people to share and it gives a lot of people a place to take a book, maybe that they really love… and it’s really special that they can put it somewhere and share it with someone that would appreciate it,” Nolen said. Photo provided by Alyssa Lutker. 
Lou Host-Jablonski, 73, has been an architect for Design Coalition, Inc. for 48 years and has designed many structures in Madison, including nonprofits, child care centers, affordable housing and schools. Host-Jablonski got a lot of enjoyment from designing and building his own little free library as a replica of his own specially designed straw-clay home. He also used the experience to work with kids and teach them the skills needed to build the structure. Photo provided by Alyssa Lutker. 
Mary Buchholz (right), 66, was a public school teacher for 35 years and is now retired from her most recent position as practice manager for Northside Animal Hospital, a practice she owned with her wife who founded it in 2006. Since then, Buchholz and her wife, June Brooks (left) have sold the practice but retained the building and the little free library they established outside on its property. The library was established in memory of their librarian friend, Jeannie. “We thought it was a fitting tribute for her as a memorial to start a little free library… She helped other people find the books that they needed, so we thought this would be a fitting way for people to find the books that they needed or wanted,” Buchholz said. Photo provided by Alyssa Lutker.
