Two free, grass-roots, book exchange initiatives in our neighborhood

Two free, grass-roots, book exchange initiatives have been taking place within walking distance of the Esplanade.  Anyone can browse their freely accessible offerings seven days a week, 24 hours a day.  All are encouraged to take a book or leave a book to share.  We here at the Esplanade can support these two neighborhood initiatives and their goals of building community engagement and participation by helping to keep these book boxes filled as we pass by on our walks and explorations.

The Kendall Square Association has installed seven micro-libraries in our area, called the Kendall Reads initiative, one of which is located in the small park on Third Street (between Binney and Munroe Streets, with the dog park, Blue Bicyles, and picnic tables).  The free-standing “K” kiosk is made of aluminum-stacked shelves, with piano hinges and magnet closures to protect the wide range of books from New England weather.  

The second kiosk, the Little Free Libraries box, is located just inside the driveway entrance to the Marlowe Hotel on Land Boulevard, adjacent to the CambridgeSide Galleria.  Little Free Libraries is the world’s largest volunteer-led, book-sharing movement, seeking to inspire readers and expand book access for all.  

The first Little Free Library was built in 2009 by the late Todd Bol in Hudson, Washington.  Bol mounted a wooden container, designed to look like a one-room schoolhouse, on a post on his lawn and filled it with books as a tribute to his late mother, a book lover and school teacher who had recently died.  Bol shared his idea with his partner, Rick Brooks, and together they built and installed more of the bookhouses in different areas of the Midwest. Soon the idea started to spread and became a non-profit.  As of August 2019 the number of Little Free Libraries has increased to more than 90,000 such bookhouses in 91 countries around the world.

The organization relies on volunteer "stewards" to construct, install, and maintain book exchange boxes.  Anyone interested in building a Little Free Library book-sharing box can download and use any of the free library plans and blueprints provided on the organization’s website:    https://littlefreelibrary.org/build/    Write a Letter to the Editor of our ECG newsletter if you are looking for others to join you in this enterprise.  

You can sign up for Little Free Library news and updates, including their popular e-newsletter at:  https://us7.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=0bf7d647113bc6ffed6f095f1&id=2ecdb4a754

You are also invited to join Little Free Library Unbound, the new digital events series connecting stewards, supporters, and book-lovers of all kinds to chat about literacy, book sharing, stewardship, and more. Attendees will have the opportunity to submit questions for our guest panelists, and our moderator will lead a discussion alongside the Q&A. The sixth installment of LFL Unbound will take place on Thursday, June 10, at 4 pm CST for an exploration of Little Free Libraries in Unexpected Places and chat with LFL stewards Dr. Russell Schnell (spoiler alert: he installed the first LFL at the South Pole!) and Nicole Sullivan of BookBar Denver.

 Jessie von Hippel