Peek inside: Little Free Libraries bring Alabama neighbors together
- Anna Claire Vollers
- Oct 4, 2017
- 4 min read
It's like going on a treasure hunt. Armed with a few addresses and some vague directions from friends, I set out to find some of my town's Little Free Libraries.
What is a Little Free Library?
Well, it looks kind of like a large birdhouse. It's usually a wooden box, a little bigger than a mailbox, sitting atop a post or attached to a fence in a person's front yard. There are books inside, and you're free to take one. Or several.
No late fees, no barcodes, no library cards. Just take what you want and bring it back when you're done. And even that's more of a suggestion than a rule. If you loved your book enough, keep it and bring another good book to take its place.
Ann Coffey was a teacher in the Madison County school system for 24 years. When she retired a couple of years ago, her daughters gave her a retirement present: a Little Free Library.
"They have several of them around my daughter's neighborhood in Decatur, Ga.," said Coffey, who lives in Huntsville's historic Five Points neighborhood. "I was fascinated and thought it was a great way to meet people and promote reading."
She said she's had such fun with the Little Free Library (LFL) that stands in her front yard, close enough to the street to invite neighbors and passers-by to take a peek inside. It's painted to match the Coffeys' home.
"At first people weren't sure exactly what it was," said Coffey. "But it has been a lot of fun. People come by and take a book, and another time they bring that one back or bring another book they think someone else might enjoy. It really takes care of itself."
The Coffeys may have been the first in Huntsville to have a little library. Now there are six or seven more across Five Points and neighboring Twickenham and Old Town districts. Several more sprinkled throughout the city, from Providence to South Huntsville.
Many of the little libraries are affiliated with the nonprofit Little Free Library organization, littlefreelibrary.org. The website maintains a map of officially registered LFLs, which lists about 41 in Alabama.
There are likely many more across the state; I've found two in Huntsville so far that aren't on the map.
As I cruised through the tree-lined streets of the Five Points neighborhood, delight is the best word to describe my feelings each time I found one of the tiny libraries.
You have to look hard, sometimes, before you see them. Many are painted to match their owners' houses, accessorized with whimsical door knobs or weather vanes. You might mistake one for an oddly-placed birdhouse if you didn't notice the row of multicolored spines behind its glass door.
Mike and Cathy Self are friends of the Coffeys and live in Huntsville's historic Old Town district. When they heard about the Coffeys' LFL, they were intrigued.
It's a good thing to bring people together, to meet neighbors that you may not meet all the time.
Self, a book lover, decided to build one for their own yard. The LFL organization sells a variety of LFLs on its website, but also provides size recommendations for people who want to build their own.
"Since we had just restored our own home back to its original Victorian style, it only seemed natural to model our LFL after our own home," he said.
And he didn't stop there.
Down the street is the 1930s-era East Clinton School, once in danger of demolition but saved through a community grassroots effort. It has been recently renovated and is now occupied by the private Providence Classical School.
"The folks at PCS are beyond description when it comes to being great neighbors," said Self. "We feel like we have adopted the school. It dawned on us that the school needed a LFL for their own students to take care of."
So he built them a double-sided LFL, a miniature replica of the school itself.
When I pulled up in front of the school, I found its doppelganger posted near the sidewalk in front. One side of it held children's books for a variety of ages, while the other side held books for grownups.
I discovered a board book I knew my 11-month-old would love, and a David Sedaris book I'd always wanted to read. I borrowed both.
It's the perfect activity for someone who loves reading and loves the feel of scoring a great find.
It can feel a little weird at first, walking up to someone's property line. We don't like to invade other people's spaces, touch their things.
But maybe that's what the little libraries do better than anything else: provide a way to push past those barriers and bring neighbors closer together.
"We have had conversations with so many of the users of the LFL," said Self.
"We have had visitors who travel the circuit between all of them in the neighborhood. The idea catches on, people appreciate the effort to preserve books."
"It's a good thing to bring people together, to meet neighbors that you may not meet all the time," said Coffey. "Sometimes people arrive at the same time to the library, and just talk about the books.
"It has created a real sense of community, doing this together."