Little Free Library Marks A Decade Of Book Sharing

Ten years ago, the late Todd Bol built a doll-sized schoolhouse out of wood, filled it with his mother’s books and put it outside his house as a neighborhood book exchange. When asked why he did this, he said he was simply paying homage to his mother, a school teacher and lover of books who had recently passed away. Over the years, what originally started as a way to honor his mother has now snowballed into a worldwide book-sharing movement.

Currently, there are now more than 87,000 Little Free Libraries in all 50 states and 90 plus counties, from Argentina to Zambia. And they have been popping up in droves. On front lawns and street corners. In parks, community centers, and hospitals. You can even find them at beaches, malls, and barbershops.