Showcase Interviews Sandy Bradley about The Little Free Library
Lifelong librarian Sandy Bradley began as a volunteer in junior high school over 60 years ago. She has worked in public, private, academic, and military libraries. She was the Librarian of the Navy before she retired from the Naval Weapons Center. But she can’t give it up and currently works part-time as a librarian at Cerro Coso Community College, loves everything about libraries and books, and operates a branch of the Little Free Library between the Sierra Nevada and Death Valley.
Showcase: Tell us about Little Free Library.
Bradley: It’s a nonprofit organization based in St. Paul, Minnesota. Their mission is to be a catalyst for building community, inspiring readers, and expanding book access for all through a global network of volunteer-led Little Free Libraries.
Showcase: How does it work?
Bradley: Stewards buy small shed libraries and posts for mounting – from littlefreelibrary.org <http://littlefreelibrary.org or they can make their own containers for books (and sometimes other things like seeds, socks [for homeless folks], jigsaw puzzles, etc. The motto is “Take a book, leave a book”). Many LFL containers have been repurposed — e.g., newspaper boxes, or mailboxes, and telephone booths.
Showcase: How did it start, and when did you get involved?
Bradley: Tod H. Bol began the LFL movement in 2010 in Wisconsin to honor his mother — a teacher and book lover. I became involved in 2013 when I read about the program and then I asked a friend to build one for us. It was installed outside our house in June 2013 and at that time, was the first LFL registered in Ridgecrest, but there are several more now. The LFL organization has moved beyond merely the ideas of community, sharing, and literacy. They now actively share a value system that embraces diversity and sharing. They have full-scale programs to build and place libraries in areas of low literacy, and supply books that feature diversity and acceptance.
Showcase: Where can people find them?
Bradley: There are over 150,000 registered LFLs in over 100 countries – and many more that are unregistered and unmapped. The idea is to create a community space where people can share books that they like but are willing to pass on, and people in need of a read can find one. There is a map at https://littlefreelibrary.org/map/ <https://littlefreelibrary.org/map/> and stewards give the address and the location is posted. Travelers can access the map online or via a mobile app and find little free libraries across the US and around the world.
Showcase: Anything else you’d like to add?
Bradley: I gave a program on LFLs to High Desert Haven a few years ago. The libraries are great fun to look at and the pictures of them are very colorful. If anyone is interested, there is a lot more information at littlefreelibrary.org
Read more about Little Free Libraries at
littlefreelibrary.org.