I’ve written more than once about Little Free Libraries. My neighborhood is in a warm, dry climate, with an engaged community, so we have dozens of these free standing tiny display boxes with books and magazines to share and exchange. But lately, there’s been a new trend. The owners are often sharing additional items as well, perhaps, or perhaps not, inspired by the current health crisis. Some examples:
A can of cooked pasta and sauce
A selection of yarmulkes
A Darth Vader piggy bank
Of course, since these little “homes” are so small, you won’t find anything like a lawn chair or child’s bike. But, in addition to the intended use of sharing literary finds, it’s fun to see what else these installations might offer. The next time I visited these particular ones, the non-book items had all been claimed. By someone. Not me, but someone. Have I myself benefited from any non-book finds? Well, there was that package of whole wheat linguini. . .
Lida Bushloper 
What a delightful idea! I’m going to copy it next time I check our local little library. Thanks!
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As I said, I’m not sure if this uptick in non book items is a result of the virus or not. And don’t know whether it will become a “thing.” I’ve certainly never noticed it before. And yes, though I didn’t mention it in the blog, people do leave individual rolls of toilet paper. As I said to Neil, the Little Free Library website has maps of all the installations that are registered with them. There may be more around than you are aware of. Thanks for reading and commenting. Lida
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How neat. Do you know if other people beside the owners are putting in items? The only worry I’d have is that the objects would squeeze out the books at some time.
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No, not at all. People are very respectful. And the owners have the responsibility of taking care of contents, either curating, discarding, rearranging, whatever is necessary. So they wouldn’t allow things to get out of hand. It’s usually only one or two small extraneous items. Lida
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I haven’t seen many of these in my area (Philadelphia burbs), though maybe there are more than I think. In any case, they are a very fine idea.
Neil S.
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Neil, on the Little Free Library website, they offer maps of all the installations, at least in the U.S. and Canada. But that’s only if the owners register with them. There certainly may be other folks who just put one up without joining the network. What amuses me is that there’s even one outside the entrance to Vroman’s, our town’s independent bookstore! I most often find ARC left there for people to take. Good luck. Lida
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Very nice story with wacky photos
Sent from my iPhone
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Glad you liked it. Thanks for reading and commenting, Van. Lida
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