When I discovered the Little Free Library movement I thought they were so cute and such a great idea. If you aren’t familiar with them, they are small libraries people put in their yard where they can share books with their neighbors.
People borrow a book and return it when they are done. Anyone who has books they would be willing to share with others can also leave them there.
I mentioned it to my father-in-law in September and sent him a link to a Pinterest search full of Little Free Libraries of all kinds.
So guess what I got from my in-laws for Christmas?
Yes! My own little red schoolhouse to use for a free library!
Technically it isn’t an official Little Free Library. To do that you have to pay to register it and I’m not going to do that (at least for now). But David painted a sign to make it The Highlands Free Library. (The Highlands is our development.)
So we’ve filled it with some books we had to share and hope that others will use it.
We’re in the back of the development on a cul-de-sac, but there are many people who walk dogs so hopefully people will stop and look.
And once the weather gets nicer and children are around more hopefully it will get even more traffic. (We’ll also paint the post white in the spring.)
In the meantime, I think it’s just so cute that I’ll enjoy looking at it every time we come and go if nothing else!
I love it! I have never heard of this before. We don’t live in a neighborhood but would love to do this if we ever live in a neighborhood. Your FIL did such a great job!!
Sallie! What an amazing gift! I’ve been wanting one of these to show up in our town (my street is too busy to host one). I have friends who have libraries in their neighborhood. Adorable and such a fun idea. Enjoy (I’m jealous!).
I love your free library! I live in Mexico, but when I visit my family in Seattle every 6 mo. I enjoy using such a library nearby. I borrow and add and have fun without spending anything! Glad someone else has made one.
Where did they buy it? Or, did they build it themselves? We are searching for one for your grandchildren. Thank you!
Hi Patti!
Here is the YouTube video he used. He printed off the drawings with the dimensions and figured it out from there.
I have been wanting a Little Red Schoolhouse Free Library for over 10 years. I couldn’t convince my husband to build it (even though he bought me a book on building them), and a friend said he would build it but didn’t. Then last summer I reached out to a former coworker (we worked at the same university child care center 7 yrs ago) and he agreed to do it as a yearly donation to benefit young children. He’s still working with kids and we are in our late 50s so it took some time. But, he delivered it last Saturday for Christmas Eve! I still need to paint it, but I’ve ordered a bell for the tower and have a plaque to dedicate it to my daughters. Hope to put it up in the Spring! (I also am not spending $75 to register it—maybe some day!). We live in a neighborhood and I am on the corner of where a new subdivision is being built. I think it will be successful.
Hi Nikki,
How fun that you are finally going to have one! We actually have another one now. The first one deteriorated to such a degree that my father-in-law made a second one for me. It is the same design of a little red schoolhouse. I need to take a picture and share an updated post.
Ours little library still gets used regularly. Sometimes it’s full to the brim and other times it’s half full. People drop off books. It’s really neat. There are now three more in our general subdivision area which is great.
If you think of it, please come back and share a picture of yours in the comments when you get it set up!
Sallie
Ok. Thank you. I will.