A few years ago I was visiting my travel buddy, Carolyn in Memphis and she took me by a Little Free Library near her home. It was a small box mounted to a pole that housed a collection of books free to any passerby. The concept seemed a perfect fit for my garden. I ordered a pre-made library and Jerimey(my helper in so many things, more about him later) mounted it. There is a pretty active Little Free Library movement in New Orleans with libraries scattered throughout the city. Through that network I began gathering books. Friends began giving me books. Since there are a lot of neighborhood kids Jerimey built a separate children's library decorated with birds, each of us has our own special bird. Emily, a 14 year old neighbor, helps keep the libraries stocked.Several months ago there was a special dinner for the library folk, we dressed as our favorite books and had an amazing meal while meeting the founder of the little library movement. You can read more about the libraries here http://littlefreelibrary.org One of the delightful aspects of the library is the books that are left by borrowers. I have found cardboard boxes of books, special books with notes from the donator regarding the book, always interesting surprises. You can check the map at the website to see if there are any libraries in your area and it is not that hard to get one up and running.
Below is a picture of neighbors at the installation of the first library and a picture of Jerimey's children's library. Jerimey is standing behind the library and my neighbor Christine (mom of most of the kid) is standing on the left of the library. The sign, which can be seen above the children's library is actually quite large and was painted my Christine, it welcomes all into the garden and has our hand prints on the back with a message to come again.My home is in the background of the first picture. Welcome to the neighborhood!
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