LITERARY LOCALS: A Q&A About a New Little Free Library in Idaho

A couple of weeks ago the algorithm that decides how little of what my friends post on Facebook decided that I needed to see a local woman announcing the opening of her Little Free Library. Now, I actually liked this post, and thought it was great to hear about the growth of these little things in the area. So I reached out to her to see if she’d be interested in talking about it a little. I, for one, had never talked to anyone about a LFL, so this was pretty cool for me. Hopefully, you enjoy it too.

Tell the people a little about yourself and your Little Free Library.
My name is Maggie, I’m a 28 year old book lover, nurse, newly graduated nurse practitioner, and a race car driver! My boyfriend would tell anyone I’m a grandma at heart so I also have a whole bunch of grandma hobbies like needlepoint, gardening, making jam, & really any craft I can get my hands on. Though, very first and most beloved hobby is reading. I have my mom to thank for kickstarting my love for reading. As a child, she was always reading to me or providing me with books to read on my own. If I had a bad day, she’d say “well, let’s go get you a book” & I would spend the rest of my day lost in whatever book I got. Truthfully, it was the same if I had a good day too (any excuse to have a book in my hand, really!). My love for reading is what started my little dream of having a little free library!

What was it that made you decide to do it—and why now?
I’ve always loved little free libraries & the accessibility to books it provides people, so I’ve always wanted to have one of my own to help get more books into the hands of my community. I love stumbling across a LFL while on a walk or on vacation & I wanted my neighborhood and community to get to stumble across one everyday while walking their dogs or taking their kids to the park. I also have a soft spot for my elderly neighbors who don’t/are not able to get out and about much, so bringing a library close to them made me happy. Though I’ve wanted a little free library for several years, it couldn’t happen until now because I’ve been in the trenches of grad school for the last 3 years with such little time to read anything but textbooks, let alone build a library and maintain it. My sweet little library was a gift from my boyfriend, Joel, for graduation. He helped me build it & he and my dad spent a whole day installing it and planting flowers around it for me. How lucky am I!

Are you a veteran patron of these kinds of Libraries?
I am definitely a patron of LFLs! I especially love finding them on vacation and it’s so sweet to come across them by accident. The charter map is also so helpful if I’m desperate to find one and short on time, though! There’s just something about stumbling upon one that I find so fun and sweet. My favorite LFL that I came across was in Scotland! I didn’t think I’d see one there but it was such a fun surprise. I recently picked up a patio set from a local gal on Facebook marketplace who had one in her front yard, so I got a cheap patio set and a new book to read while lounging on my new purchase!

Is there something distinctive of yours (I’m talking content here, not appearance) that makes it different from others? Or is it simply that yours is in front of your house and not a mile away or something?
I don’t think there’s anything too distinctive about mine. I’ve seen some LFLs have themes, which I think is so fun, but my goal here was just to be as inclusive as possible with a wide range of types of book genres and books for all ages! I even stock my library with learning flash cards for the little ones, mini uno decks & puzzles for people who may struggle to read but enjoy games, book marks, reading stickers, and I even put a few packets of wildflower seeds (as an ode to my love of gardening)! I really just want this to be a place for everyone. The placement in front of my house versus at a park or other location was also important for me because it truly brings me joy to see someone stop by and grab a book or drop a book off. It’s so funny, because the best way I can describe how I feel when someone stops by my library is like a kid on Christmas. Every day I walk down the driveway to see what’s new in the library and what books have been taken from the library and I get so giddy when I see books getting rotated in and out. It’s become my favorite part of the day.

Okay, I can’t imagine that people (especially overthinkers like me) don’t plan out the design/look of their library. What were you going for? Did you achieve it?
I knew my library would be yellow. It’s my favorite color & I think it’s a color that many people associate with being a “happy” color. Bright and cheery and colorful is very on brand for me so my library had to be a reflection of that. I still have a little bit of painting to do on it, I’m planning on adding flowers & painting “Little Free Library” on the side but I wanted to get it in the ground and at eye level before I do that so that’ll be coming soon! My first priority was getting it open for business, so final touches coming soon!

I know it’s new, but what’s the reception like? I don’t know enough to know what makes a Little Free Library successful—does it seem to be achieving that?
Reception has been pretty good so far! I stocked the library initially, but I’ve had quite a lot of traffic and different books be added in the last couple weeks! It’ll be officially chartered later this week, so I think that’ll attract a bit more traffic but I’m very happy with the traffic so far! I don’t think there’s a definite measure of success when it comes to a LFL. Being able to facilitate getting books into the hands of people big and small is a win in my book! I was so extremely fortunate to have unlimited access to books growing up, and I know many families don’t have that luxury so if I can help a family stock their own shelves with bedtime stories for the kids and beach reads for mom to escape to, I feel like I’ve been successful.

One quick follow-up (that really demonstrates my ignorance of the whole LFL thing). Could you define what “chartered” is?
To charter your LFL, you can pay the organization for the “official” plaque which comes with a number unique to your library and it places your library on the map for others to find libraries in a specific area!

One final question, is there a book (or two…or 18, if you get really carried away), that embodies Idaho/the Idaho spirit to you to recommend to my readers?
I think I would say Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson (literary fiction). It focuses on family, identity, relationships between people and nature, the feeling of “home”, and society’s expectations of women. It’s a very interesting read and I think it really captures the “wildness” of nature and the human spirit. It’s also set in a fictional Idaho town!
[you really can’t go wrong with Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson] Another read I’ve recently loved is Yesteryear by Cara Claire Burke. I wouldn’t say it captures the spirit of Idaho but it is set in Idaho and I think it really captured how someone’s life is truly not what it seems on social media which I think is a prevalent conversation and the themes throughout the book explore various prevalent topics – i.e. religion, politics, mental health, impact of social media, etc. It also has some pretty crazy twists and turns throughout and is very funny at times too. I wouldn’t say it captures the spirit of Idaho anymore, I think we’ve progressed beyond many of the themes within the book, but it does touch thematically on conflict we’ve seen recently in surrounding areas (think Ruby Franke from Utah and the cult child abuse case) which is definitely more common in rural areas. You don’t have to include that one but it’s a very fascinating fiction read with a satirical vibe and heavy themes!
I keep hearing about Yesteryear, and while I don’t see me reading it–I’d love to hear more of your thoughts about it.

Thanks for your time and participation! Hope you enjoyed it! And I hope your LFL finds its audience!