At the end of the Fernglen Place cul-de-sac, near Deer Lake Park, a miniature library case stands tall on a wooden post, full of books for children and adults.
The idea is simple – build community and promote literacy and the love of reading by building free book exchanges. Visitors take a book and share a book. Titles at the Little Free Library on Fernglen Place include Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Goodnight Moon and Eat Pray Love.
“I absolutely love reading and hope to instill the same passion in my own children,” said Sydelle Murphy, one of the moms who helped get the Little Free Library off the ground, in an email to the NOW. “I fell in love with the concept of a free book exchange the instant I saw one many years ago. Since then, I’ve always wanted to organize one and realized that our community is the perfect place for it. We have avid readers of all ages and hope to continue growing Greentree readers, one book at a time.”
Murphy, the official library steward, said the reading initiative was made possible thanks to a Neighbourhood Small Grant, with the books donated by Companion Book on Hastings Street.
For anyone interested in checking out the mini-library, there will be a ribbon cutting ceremony on Sunday, Nov. 27 at 3:30 p.m.
“Come celebrate with your fellow book lovers. There will be games, treats and locally designed Fernglen-inspired bookmarks for all. Feel free to bring along a book to share,” said Murphy.
The Little Free Library movement began in 2009 when Todd Bol of Hudson, Wisconsin built a model of a one-room schoolhouse. It was a tribute to his mom, who was a teacher and loved to read. He filled it with books and put it on a post in his front yard. The response was positive, so he built several more and gave them away, each with a sign that read “free books.”
Bol then partnered with Rick Brooks, a youth and community development educator with a background in social marketing. The pair grew the concept into a non-profit organization, which today has 50,000 libraries registered worldwide.
For more information, visit www.fernglenlibrary.ca. To donate books, email Murphy at [email protected].
