Little Libraries, Free at Last?
IN OCTOBER 2020, Tina Musich erected a small wooden box with a slanted roof on a post in her front yard in Oradell, New Jersey. The box’s glass-faced door revealed a pile of books that people were free to take, return, and trade.
Her Little Free Library soon proved a hit with the neighborhood. Adults and children alike would grab or drop off books every day. Musich would personally get compliments about the library at least once a week.
“Book drops and little free libraries allow communities to come together and share a love of reading while practicing safe social distancing in these pandemic times,” she wrote online. “They teach our children about sharing and community. With the library closed for browsing for over a year, the experience of picking out a book has been lost.”
Local code enforcement officials
