WEBVTT - How Did the Little Free Library Movement Start?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Brainstuff, production of iHeart Radio. Hey brain Stuff

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<v Speaker 1>Lauren Vogelbaum Here. Todd Bowle tore down his old garage

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<v Speaker 1>door in two thousand nine, the year his mother died.

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<v Speaker 1>Using the scrap wood, he created something new, a box

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<v Speaker 1>shaped like a little red schoolhouse. He set it on

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<v Speaker 1>a post in his yard in Hudson, Wisconsin, and included

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<v Speaker 1>a door that opened to give access to the books

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<v Speaker 1>he placed inside. His mother had been a school teacher,

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<v Speaker 1>and this book box helped keep her legacy alive. He felt.

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<v Speaker 1>Bole died on October eighteenth, eighteen, at age sixty two

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<v Speaker 1>of pancreatic cancer, but not before some seventy five thousand

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<v Speaker 1>Little Free Library boxes had been created and the movement

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<v Speaker 1>had spread worldwide. Today, the movement has over a hundred

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<v Speaker 1>and thirty eight thousand boxes present in a hundred and

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<v Speaker 1>twelve countries and on all seven continents, including one in

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<v Speaker 1>an arcticle at the South Pole. They can be found

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<v Speaker 1>on people's lawns, in public parks, at New York City

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<v Speaker 1>subway stops, and in a refugee camp in Uganda. People

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<v Speaker 1>place books in them and take books away in an

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<v Speaker 1>easy exchange. There are no memberships, no fines, and no

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<v Speaker 1>expectations except for communities dedication to reading and sharing books.

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<v Speaker 1>Both told The Washington Post in I put up my

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<v Speaker 1>library and noticed my neighbors talking to it like it

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<v Speaker 1>was a little puppy, and I realized there was some

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<v Speaker 1>kind of magic about it. When he realized people loved

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<v Speaker 1>the idea of small free library boxes, he and a

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<v Speaker 1>friend worked to extend the magic, building and giving away boxes.

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<v Speaker 1>With national media attention in eleven, the movement grew exponentially,

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<v Speaker 1>and both formed the nonprofit Little Free Library. He told

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<v Speaker 1>the Minneapolis Star Tribune in oh what we have found

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<v Speaker 1>is that the neighborhood starts to feel like it's the

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<v Speaker 1>airs in today's polarized society. The boxes create a common

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<v Speaker 1>space that people are comfortable with. He said. He felt

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<v Speaker 1>the boxes also had a folk art appeal. Although there

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<v Speaker 1>are lots of different blueprints and tutorials aimed at different

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<v Speaker 1>skill levels available on the nonprofit's website, you can build

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<v Speaker 1>and decorate a box however you'd like. Bole himself was

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<v Speaker 1>an erstwhile school teacher turned entrepreneur concerned with the public good.

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<v Speaker 1>Among his ventures was a company that arranged funding for

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<v Speaker 1>nurses to come from overseas to fill a nursing shortage

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<v Speaker 1>in the United States. Today, Little Free Library boxes are

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<v Speaker 1>located in hospitals in Ireland, prisons in Wisconsin, police stations

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<v Speaker 1>in Los Angeles, outside school in Sudan, and on the

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<v Speaker 1>Yamal Peninsula in Siberia, where reindeer herders live. The organization

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<v Speaker 1>also launched Action Book Club, which encourages people to read

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<v Speaker 1>and discuss books on timely topics and take part in

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<v Speaker 1>service projects together, and the Reading Color Initiative, which encourages

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<v Speaker 1>people to read and share books that amplify and celebrate

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<v Speaker 1>diverse voices. And the Impact Library Program, which places little

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<v Speaker 1>libraries and areas with little to no access to books

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<v Speaker 1>and unbound digital events series. If you're interested in building

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<v Speaker 1>a Little Free Library or participating in the network in

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<v Speaker 1>your area, go to Little Free Library dot org to

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<v Speaker 1>get started. There's a world map where you can see

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<v Speaker 1>whether there's already a little library in your neighborhood, plus

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<v Speaker 1>lots of resources for getting involved. They're not a sponsor,

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<v Speaker 1>We just think they're cool. Today's episode is based on

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<v Speaker 1>the article how Todd Bowl started the Little Free Library

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<v Speaker 1>movement on how Stuff Works dot com. Written by Stell Simonton.

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<v Speaker 1>Brain Stuff is production of I heart Radio and partnership

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<v Speaker 1>with how stuff works dot com, and it's produced by

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<v Speaker 1>Tyler Playing with assistance from Ramsey Young. For more podcasts

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<v Speaker 1>from my heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

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