Books, Sharing & Unity: The Power of the Little Free Library Movement

This was my English Association of Pennsylvania State Universities Conference (EAPSU) paper that I presented at Edinboro University in April of 2018. I discussed my inspiration, motivation and journey in implementing a Little Free Library in my college community, along with imperative information and facts about the literacy rates in the United States.

When reality became too hard to handle, books have always been an outlet for me to escape life and enter unusual worlds of make believe. Through the words and imagination of different writers, I have been transported to many fictional adventures, visited unknown worlds and distant lands, I have even fought villains and met wonderful and powerful characters that have become almost like real friends. In fact, books are my friends—they have always brought me comfort and uplifted my spirits—they are always there when I need it the most. More importantly, books have allowed me to gain an understanding of vital life lessons from authors and their imaginary characters. I have learned to love, forgive and become more fearless; in many ways, it has helped me cultivate into a better person. In a sense, books have not just been an escape from reality—they are a second home. Books are more than just words printed on a piece paper; they contain the power of bringing influence and knowledge to a person’s life, including mine.

I firmly believe that reading is highly imperative because it helps develop the human mind, allows people to discover new things, and it builds imagination. Words are also the building blocks of life, therefore making reading essential in society. As I observe the world around me, I began to realize that not enough people, in today’s generation at least, read often or as often as they should. This led me to grow an interest and curiosity on how reading is valued in today’s society, as well as the literacy rates in the United States. Through my interest and curiosity, I discovered that low literacy continues to be a major problem amongst adults, not just for adolescents in the United States—hence inspiring me to involve the Shippensburg community in the Little Free Library movement. This movement focuses on book exchanges and bringing unity to an entire area; community members are allowed to pick up a book from these free libraries and exchange it with a new read.

The Little Free Library movement focuses on promoting literacy on a global and national level; Tod Bol of Hudson, Wisconsin first devised the project in 2009. Bol built a birdhouse of a one-room schoolhouse, in honor of his deceased mother who was a teacher, and filled it with books for the public to read and exchange. What turned out to be a personal project later became a social enterprise, in which people across the United States and in many countries abroad, installed book-swaps in various communities to promote literacy.

What ignited my idea of installing a book exchange or a free library, started as an academic project in the Fall Semester 2016, when I took a Technical Writing I class taught by Dr. Laurie Cella, an English professor at Shippensburg University. For the entire semester, students had to brainstorm creative ideas on something that we would like to see changed or added on or off campus and turn it into a project. As someone who is an avid reader and who enjoys books, I thought a creative idea would be to implement a free book exchange in the Shippensburg community.

Throughout the first half of the semester, I garnered local support to help make this idea of mine happen. With great success, I have gathered local support from the Shippensburg Public Library, the Friends of the Shippensburg Public Library, and the Rotary Club. The director of the library provided me with advice and knowledge on the library field and books. For the book exchange’s funding, I sought help from the Shippensburg Rotary Club; I devised a proposal to receive monetary aid from Rotary, in which the proposal was approved for $450.00 for the purchase of the little library and the needed materials to decorate it. Furthermore, I had the pleasure of receiving book donations from a nonprofit group called the Friends of the Shippensburg Public Library, where I applied for grant to receive 60 books. Additionally, the Rotary Club was more than willing to provide a home for the Little Free Library at the town’s new trailhead that is currently being built—and it will be installed in the beginning of the fall semester of this year. With each of their support, it helped make my idea into a reality. Although I was able to gather local support, books materials, and funding for the little library, I endured many challenges along the way. Getting in touch with the Rotary Club and the director of the public library, proved to be a difficult task due to lack of communication. But through my persistence and personal motivation, I was able to overcome this problem and achieve all of my goals in my journey to implement a free book exchange before the semester ended.

For the entire fall semester, I conducted thorough research on how society values the skill of reading in America. Through my research, I have learned that literacy is becoming a forgotten or unpracticed skill in the United States, and in some parts abroad—for all ages. The National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) discovered that approximately 30 million adults have “below basic” literacy skills—with more than half of those scoring at that level, do not have a high school diploma or a GED. What this study proves to show is that approximately 1 out of every 6 adults, ages 25 and older, have not mastered literacy in the United States.

The ability to read has positive economic consequences. Adults who are more advanced or better than average readers, are also higher earners and are more likely to have a high-paying job or salary. There is an increase in the demand of proficient literacy, especially in businesses, industrial jobs, armed forces, and in everyday life; the lack of a proficient reading impairs a person’s ability to function well in modern society.

It is also important to note that reading provides language acquisition and a free-learning environment. This book exchange will help bring awareness to the Shippensburg community on the importance of extensive reading. Extensive reading does not only challenge a person’s critical thinking skills, but it will also provide a practice in automaticity of word recognition, decoding symbols, and provide strong reading comprehension. Reading also helps a person attain a wider gain in oral and written skills. People who read more are more likely to make accurate and educated inferences as well as properly distinguish between fact and opinion.

Also, The Little Free Library movement has gained so much momentum and fame nationwide. Recently, in the United States, a free library was established in a mall in Buffalo, North Dakota. In an article by Katie Fairbanks, “Little Free Library opens up in Buffalo Mall,” the Prairie Reading Council and its president, Becky Taylor, implemented a Little Free Library as a community project. The councils mission is to “promote reading confidence and develop community awareness for the importance of literacy.” The council believes that by having books in the home, puts more value on the home itself and family.

There are many students who also have a compelling desire to promote literacy in their school and community. In another article that I found, the article tells the story about a new park that implemented little libraries in order to build a love for reading in the area. It discusses how elementary school, middle school, and high school students in the area are designing and building little libraries—with the help of the town’s local library that organized the movement and has done its best to get book donations. Many educational and public institutions are seeing the many benefits of installing book exchanges, because many are realizing the importance and value of reading. Also, many institutions are beginning to see that book exchanges and literature can help unify and connect people with each other.

As of June of 2016, there are over 40,000 Little Free Libraries in all the 50 states in America as well as in 70 countries around the world. Furthermore, this nonprofit organization is trying to reach a goal of 100,000 free libraries by 2017. The organization has been touring across the U.S., trying to spread the word and also donating little libraries to many communities. Recently, these free libraries have coined the name “mini-town squares” as a way to describe its dollhouse structure. Additionally, on October 27, 2015 the Little Free Library was awarded the Library of Congress Literacy Award for its effectiveness in implementing best practices in literacy and reading promotion. In 2012, the Associated Press stated that the Little Free Library is a “global sensation.” Many media outlets like USA Today, the Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune, LA Times, and the Huffington Post have also named it as an extraordinary global movement.

Additionally, my research uncovered an important element that made me understand the importance of promoting reading and the urgency of starting a free library in the Shippensburg community. In the age of Internet and e-books, printed and hardcopy books are being compared to vinyl records—it is being seen an archaic way of learning and reading. Our civilization is a civilization of written words and books; therefore, it plays an imperative role in the way we relate to each other as a group. Book exchanges are in existence to help defend and promote the revival of books and to remind society of the fundamental value of reading.

Currently, the Shippensburg community does not have a book exchange. This book exchange is a great way for people to discover new reading material and build a free-learning environment in the area as well. Also, the book exchange will help bring awareness on the importance of extensive reading to the community and play a small part in assisting in improving the low literacy rates—with the hopes that the movement will spread beyond the town.

Although my main goal, throughout this project of mine, was and is to positively contribute to the astonishing low literacy rates in America, I also wanted to bring an entire community together through books and through the principal of sharing. In a world that is consumed with hate, division and tension—society as a whole tends to forget the elements that can bring us together in harmony. We are all guilty of separating ourselves and pointing out our perceived differences than finding ways of bringing us together. I believe that books and sharing are key elements that hold the power of uniting people as a whole.

Having a Little Free Library will be a beneficial thing to have in the Shippensburg community. Book lovers and avid readers will have a chance to share their favorite reads to people in the area, and it will also help encourage people to read more for both adults and children. More importantly, it will raise awareness and enforce people to recognize the importance of literacy and how it can be a valuable and constructive skill in a person’s life.

The author, Henry Miller, once said, “A book lying idle on a shelf is wasted ammunition. Like money, books must be kept in constant circulation … a book is not only a friend, it makes friends for you. When you have possessed a book with mind and spirit, you are enriched. But when you pass it on you are enriched threefold.” 

I have been driven by my passion for literature to establish a Little Free Library in Shippensburg. This book exchange movement will hopefully unify folks in the area through books, inspire people to read or to read more, allow the bibliophile community to share their favorite pieces of literature to the public, and to also aid in enhancing the human mind. I firmly believe that these book exchanges are a great way at building a sense of community within a community—as I mentioned before, I believe books have the power to bring people together in harmony. Most importantly, the little library will be creating a free-learning environment, where people are allowed to freely read while simultaneously enhancing their mind. What the movement has shown is that extensive reading is a skill that is vital and essential in every society around the world. Book exchanges are beneficial to any community because it will encourage local citizens to read. My love for reading, my passion for finding a way of unifying people, and my personal motivation—have compelled me want to make a positive change in my community, and I believe that by installing a Little Free Library in Shippensburg, will be a great start in making a positive change in the world today. I know that books have taught me so many life lessons, provided me with knowledge, and have been a great influence in my life—I hope that this book exchange movement will have the same impact to others in Shippensburg.