Take a book, leave a book.
It’s a simple concept that began in Wisconsin when Todd Bol built the first Little Free Library on his lawn in Hudson. In 2009, Bol mounted a wooden container on a post designed to look like a one-room schoolhouse and filled it with books free for the taking, in honor of his mother, a book lover and school teacher who had recently passed away.
Since then, the Little Free Library movement has grown into a formal nonprofit organization with more than 150,000 tiny book exchanges worldwide. And it all started in Madison (more or less).
After the original in Hudson, the first official Little Free Library was built in Madison. Today, there are hundreds of Little Free Libraries throughout the city, each promoting literacy and building community.
Over the years, the Madison Public Library has donated countless duplicate or unsold books from sales to fill the libraries. The effort has extended the life of many books and helped bring literature to areas that aren’t within walking distance of a library branch.
One of Little Free Library’s missions is to increase book access to low-income communities and increase the literacy rate — according to the organization, more than 30 million adults in the U.S. cannot read or write above a third-grade level. By bringing greater and more equitable book access to neighborhoods worldwide, Little Free Libraries help foster a love for reading in young children and influence literacy rates.
In Madison and across the nation, the libraries also help build community. During the pandemic, as food shelves saw record numbers of people in need, some folks took to adding food items to their libraries to share with community members. (Though some officials say this isn’t a recommended practice.)
Just as anyone can take a book from a Little Free Library, anyone can buy or build their own tiny book exchange. And some people get really creative with it.
You can find Madison’s many official Little Free Libraries plotted on this map, though there are many that have yet to be added. Happy reading!
