Category: Little Free Library

My Little Free Library celebrated its birthday with a party for its patrons on Saturday. Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t terrific, but the rain held off long enough for cake, music and wine!

The only challenge is that the party goers each bought books and the Library is already FULL!  I had to open Riverdale Little Free Library Annex #1 – a cardboard box (see photo above). I am confident though that we will be getting a run on reading as the proverbial winter chill sets into Alberta.

I built a new reading bench and carved “Libellus Libertas” which I think and hope is Latin for Books Free – as in ‘take a free book’ or ‘books are freedom’

Reflecting on the 1st year I can make a few observations:

1. Physical maintenance on the building has been minimal. I spruced up the exterior (for the party) with a quick coat of varnish, I had left over from another project. I’ve had to replace one of the door knobs and that’s about it.
2.  The upstairs, library studio flat had no bird tenants although it was guarded by a fat sparrow for a week or so this spring.
3. The Head Librarian has become a promiscuous reader, as he has started way more books than he finishes and is currently reading 6 books.
4. The collection size has remained quite steady (current glut not withstanding). I’ve culled about 20 books that weren’t moving, but most seem to disappear in about 2-4 weeks.
5. I’ve met many more neighbours and been thanked for the library by many.

So all in all a great 1st year. This winter, I plan to build at least one more library.

Susan and I were really pleased to host a fine evening of music last evening here in Riverdale. Our neighbour Cam Neufeld is touring this summer with Jez Hellard & The Djukella Orchestra (Jez and bassist Nye Parsons). Jez and Nye are from the UK and royally entertained us with  a rich collection of origional and traditional  tunes.

The concert was a fund-raiser in support of the two Syrian families that have been sponsored here in Riverdale. So always good to be able to support a good cause, while having a great time and listening to some fine music. As you can see the Little Library did double duty as a welcome sign.

The Little Free Library has survived its first week- no vandalism, lots of borrowers and depositors, collection growing and 12 new DVDs videos (thanks to Rocky and Eric). The back birdhouse suite is still vacant (I hope I won’t have to remove the No Magpies Need Apply sign) and the building survived its first rain. The children’s collection is a bit sparse but, all in all,  a great week – Thanks to all the patrons.

Two problems to overcome:

Read More

This weekend I opened the Little Free Library I have been building for the past few weeks.  It is a great hit and already I’ve had a couple of nice volumes appear (librarian gets 1st pick!).

I managed to use scraps and pieces from the old house we demolished 20 years on this site to construct the library. The only purchased parts are the door hinges.  I also paid the $40  to officially register with the Little Free Library organization – thus the “official sign” and steward number on the picture.

One problem with building a free library is that I already have requests for 2 more (one for our Unitarian Church). But I did learn a few things during construction.

Here is the “spiel” I posted on the door

Welcome to Rivderdale’s first Little Free Library. This is one of over 30,000 Little Free Libraries located around the world.

The Steward of this library is Terry Anderson (terrya@athabascau.ca). The Library was constructed entirely of re-cycled materials, many of which came from the original house on this site.

You are welcome to deposit or withdraw a book or two. Borrowed books may be lent to a friend or returned to any Free Library in the world.

This library also accepts videos, CDs and DVDs. If you wish, you may leave a note in your deposit with recommendations, instructions or any advice you wish to offer to its next reader.

And a couple of pics