Little free libraries trend popping up in Grand Rapids

Little Free Libraries, the practice of placing collections of books placed in a decorated storage space that are free for strangers, started in 2009 when Todd Bol, in Wisconsin, built a little red school house model for his mother. Bol was also inspired by Andrew Carnegie, who advocated for 2,509 free public libraries between 1883 and 1929.

The trend captured the nation, has been cited as a placemaking effort, and has caught the attention of people living in Grand Rapids. 

There are currently 10 registered Little Free Libraries in Grand Rapids, servicing a broad spectrum of the city. Little Free Library locations range from East Town, the South East side and the North East side of Grand Rapids.

Not only can neighbors put up the libraries, community members can contribute by donating books to the libraries that are built. 

Tim and Anjie Gleisner have a library in front of their home located in Eastown. 

"My husband and I are both librarians so we heard about it in the library world," Anjie Gleisner says. She says creating a Little Free Library on her block was a community effort. 

"I am the block captain, and there is a little library not that far away from where I live," Anjie Gleisner says. "So I wanted one on our block and during a block party I mentioned it." 

She says her community was all about it when she first came up with the idea a little over a year ago. Her neighbors even brought a jar to be passed around to donate money so the Little Free Library could be built and filled with books.

"One of my neighbors offered to create the house that the books are stored in," says Anjie Gleisner. "It was really funny because he made it to look exactly like our house." Keeping the Little Free Library filled with books throughout the year is much easier than she expected. 

"I often come home to boxes of books from my neighbors and strangers," Anjie Gleisner says. She also works in a library so she purchases books from their donation center.

The goal of Little Free Library, according to their official website, was to "build over 2,510 Little Free Libraries -as many as Andrew Carnegie- and keep going." 

They have surpassed their goal tenfold, with over 25,000 Little Free Libraries in the United States. The goal was reached in August of 2012, and every year it expands

Locations and ways to get involved with Little Free Library can be located on their website.