Galesburg Rotarians will be placing 10 “little libraries” around the city in the near future, the first of which was installed over the weekend at Full Viewpoint Park.
The Little Free Library movement has taken off around the world, with over 40,000 doll-house sized libraries believed to be in existence. The movement looks to promote literacy and a love of reading among neighbors.
The idea is for residents to take a book to read and if they have a book to share, leave it for someone else.
Galesburg Fire Chief Tom Simkins built the initial structure which he tells WGIL is unique to the park and has a special feature.
“One of the really neat things I think about the one we built is that we had the idea of putting a weather vane on top of it,” Simkins says. “I knew Jeff Morris over at Alexis Fire Equipment could do about anything with the equipment he has. So, the weather vane is a product of theirs. It’s a stainless steel weather vane of a little girl reading a book.”
Simkins says rotary members are still deciding where other little libraries will go, but a housing authority facility could be among other places.
Books inside the FVP structure were donated by the Galesburg Public Library, Simkins and other community members.
Oddly enough, the little libraries have caused a bit of controversy around the U.S.
Based on resident complaints, officials in California, Louisiana and Kansas have made various homeowners take down libraries in their yards, due to city code violations.
