COMMA RUTNITY
LITTLE FREE LIBRARY
I f you have not seen a Little Free Library
in the Tampa Bay area, the chances
are that you will. These small, custom
built and decorated, doll-house-sized
kiosks, or free book exchanges, are popping
up steadily throughout our communities,
offering people a chance to share books
and ideas, as well as to promote learning
and education. The concept is simple; it
invites people to take a book to read or
leave a book for others to enjoy.
Currently, there are ten Little Free
Libraries in use in Safety Harbor and eleven
in Dunedin. There are more than forty
Little Free Libraries in place throughout
Pinellas County, while Hillsborough
County currently has 25.
“All are official,” Safety Harbor Public
Library Director, Lisa Kothe, explains.
“Each one is unique, and no two the same.
We are connected with the international
office based in Wisconsin, and our
Little Free Libraries are numbered and
registered and can be found on the world
map published on Little Free Library’s
official website. These book exchanges
in no way replace our traditional public
libraries, but rather offer our community
an opportunity to come together, sharing
ideas and creating something useful.”
After learning about the Dunedin
Public Library’s commitment to Little
Free Libraries, Kothe decided to reach
out to her Safety Harbor community,
where she discovered that many of the
citizens were interested and willing to
volunteer. In 2014, Safety Harbor’s first
two Little Free Libraries were designed,
built and placed in strategic locations
that experienced high foot traffic. Kothe
believed that the book exchanges would
benefit her community in multiple ways
as they promote literacy, creativity and
art, as well as a strong commitment to
family, sharing, participation and well
being. It’s become common to see a man or
woman reading in the city’s gazebo after
they have chosen a book, or grandparents
selecting children’s books from the Little
Free Library and then reading them to
their grandchildren in the park.
There are no membership requirements
or identification cards. There are no late
fees, penalties or replacement charges.
64 TAMPA BAY MAGAZINE | MARCH APRIL 2017
Little Free Library books are offered to the
community for free. If you like the book,
you can keep it. If you have books you
no longer want, you can donate them by
simply taking them to a Little Free Library
and putting them inside. Another benefit is
that Little Free Libraries never close. They
are open and available for people to come
and take a book or leave a book, regardless
of the time of day.
If there is not a Little Free Library in
your community and you are interested
in getting involved, here are a few simple
steps you can follow, as suggested by
Little Free Library, Ltd. First, pick your
location where there is high foot traffic
and visibility to passersby. Ensure your
location is legally acceptable by contacting
your town’s zoning office in order to see
if you need a permit. Then, build your
library and set it out for use.
Our continued use of actual books that
have turnable paper pages and that can be
held in your hand is proof that not all our
education and entertainment comes from
smart phones and tablets. 9
By Marc Mencher
This Little Free Library on Nassau Street in Tampa was
among the first to appear in Hillsborough County.
On 4th Street in Indian Rocks Beach, there is a Little Free Library
located adjacent to the walkway to the beach.