With the closing of many public libraries around North Carolina and the nation, there became a need for new ways to have access to books. The solution...Little Free Libraries! (http://littlefreelibrary.org/) Little Free Library operates on the mantra of "take a book, return a book." Though I cannot claim that the Little Free Libraries were my own idea, when I heard about this international phenomena of building or up-cycling little shelters to store books open for public use, I was determined to bring one to my college campus, Elon University. I wanted students and community members alike to use the Little Free Library as a place to grab a book or educational magazine to read between classes, during a lunch break, or simply as a fun field trip to pick out a new book. With no library card required, it is a no hassle deal.

I brought the idea of creating a Little Free Library on Elon's campus to my boss at the university as well as a friend whom I had classes with. Together the three of us pitched the idea to Elon faculty, secured a donation of a newspaper dispenser from the local news, refurbished the dispenser, and filled it with a variety of donated books appropriate for all ages. Little Free Libraries can be found all over the world so I encourage everyone to go find a Little Free Library wherever you are, take a book, leave a little note, then return it to a different Little Free Library. Every Little Free Library can be found on "the map" http://littlefreelibrary.org/ourmap/ . We just registered our new Little Free Library in Elon, North Carolina, so it will still take a couple weeks for it to show up on the map, but if you want to find ours, look for Mooney Education Building in Elon, NC. Happy reading!