In case you were asking yourself, “What is a Little Free Library?” They are just that, a free library that people in the community construct themselves or purchase and place in a designated area for anyone to enjoy. They don’t require library cards or due dates. Simply take a book and/or leave a book. The mission of Little Free Libraries is to keep reading alive and aid in creating a sense of community. There are several located throughout Roy and many other cities throughout the country. These Little Libraries are in front of homes, businesses, and schools. For a map of the little libraries, you can visit littlefreelibrary.org. Keep in mind this site only shows registered libraries but there are many more out there.

It only took a short time living in Roy before we realized that there was already a strong sense of community that we wanted to be a part of. We read and we feel it is important that reading is kept alive, so we decided a library would be perfect. We discussed many different ideas of what we would use for our library. After lots of brainstorming, we decided on a retro refrigerator. It would be the perfect addition to our retro home and vibrant flamingos that reside in our yard. The search was on, and after a week or so of looking, my mother-in-law texted my wife that she had found the “perfect fridge.” It was a small apartment fridge from the 1940’s that needed some TLC. Beneath its old faux wood exterior, we knew there was a super rad library hiding within. It would just take a little work. Once we purchased the fridge for a steal of a price, we cleaned, sanitized, sanded, painted, added artwork, and most importantly, made it SAFE. The latch mechanism was removed and replaced with magnets that made it impossible to lock. Also, I anchored it in the ground, eliminating the chances of it tipping.

We were excited when it was all painted and ready to go in our front yard. We took great joy in personalizing it to match the theme of our home. We used vintage pink and teal colors that showed our personality. We also added vinyl flamingos and a quote inside the door. It was rewarding to fill it with lots of fun free extras like stickers, pencils, and bookmarks. Our mission was to make it fun and inviting for anyone of all ages. We were anxious to see the first patron of our library. For what felt like weeks, we waited in anticipation and watched out the window to see if our library would be enjoyed. Finally, the day came when it was visited. For the first few weeks, we were so overjoyed about seeing people use our library, we would rush out and say hello to our library visitors. This library has created friendships and connections within our neighborhood and our community.

Many people have contacted us about donating books for our library. Although we are grateful for the donations we have received, we have so many books that we would like to urge people to donate to the many other free libraries in our area. Please remember to also take a book from our library. We invite you to take as many books as you would like. Our library has books for all ages and reading types. It has been enjoyable for us to find new books and enjoy them too.