Interim Director Jessica Anderson announced to the Library’s Board of Trustees that the Humboldt County Reading Coalition has obtained their first Free Little Library structure. The structure was donated by United Way of Northern Nevada and Sierra. United Way received a donation of eight little libraries from a Washoe County Boy Scout's Eagle Project.
The Coalition is working on presenting a letter to the Winnemucca City Council for approval to place this one and other Free Little Libraries around the city. “We have to get permission from the city before we can install them,” Anderson said, adding that the Library and Coalition are hoping to place Free Little Libraries at Pioneer Park and Vesco Park. “People can go to the park and sit in the shade and read or take one home,” she said.
Anderson said the Coalition would like to get local artists and local schools to decorate the box so the structures are like mini art installations. She said the Coalition hopes to have the first one installed by the end of summer.
The idea behind the Free Little Library is to get people to read by providing easier access to books. “It's built on the principle of take a book, leave a book,” Anderson said. “Rotate through your collection [and] if you finished a book and don't want to keep it, drop it off at the little free library.” Besides, she adds, people have busy schedules and can’t always make it to the library to check out books. “We know not everyone can’t make it to the library but with these libraries we can help build people's home libraries.”
There is a website where Free Little Libraries are registered which will show up on a map so people traveling through can stop by and select a book or leave a book. The Free Little Library map shows Reno as having about 25 Free Little Libraries spread across the city, while Elko has four.
According to The Little Free Library 2018 annual report, the non-profit organization installed its 75,000th Little Library and operate in more than 90 countries around the world. All 50 states have at least one Free Little Library.
