Community Corner

'Water Cooler Talk' Goes Outdoors, Around 'Little Free Libraries'

Urbandale has three Little Free Libraries and the Kiwanis Club is raising money to place six more along trails.

Urbandale community leaders want to place six more Little Free Library boxes around the city.

Mary Polson, the director of the Urbandale Community Action Network, calls them the “water fountains of the old office days” – in other words, places where people gather for conversation and build neighborhood connections.

The Urbandale Kiwanis Club is doing fundraising and plans to partner with Girl Scouts to build six more libraries that will be placed along city trails managed by the Urbandale Parks and Recreation Department.

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A 9-hole golf outing last week raised about $300, half the amount necessary to build the six Little Free Libraries. People who agree to put the Little Free Libraries on their property get to decorate them as they wish, Polson said.

UCAN volunteers CeCe Arnold, Bruce Bernard and Arlene Dabill, and Cindy Walker have Little Free Libraries in their yards.

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The Little Free Library movement began in Hudson, WI when Todd Bol decided to build a small library and fill it with books to be shared with friends, neighbors or passersby, according to a story on the UCAN web site.

Bol undertook the project to honor his late mother, a schoolteacher. The idea is to "take a book and  leave a book," and it’s designed to encourage a passion for reading.

From a small beginning the movement has grown to an estimated 6,000 libraries in 36 countries, with the latest estimate of at least 1,650,000 books donated and borrowed since, January 2010.    

Little Free Libraries come in all shapes and sizes, they can be built or bought, are rarely vandalized, and can become a site of good conversation between neighbors. If you are interested in learning more check out the website at: Website: wwwlittlefreelibrary.org

To check out the local connection, feel free to stop at 7231 Plum Drive, 3917 82nd Street or 4708 83rd to check out a book or just get a feel for what a Little Free Library can look like. These libraries are open 24 hours per day, 7 days per week!


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