Little Libraries, Art Galleries, and Pantries
These "littles" make big waves.
There are more than 40 of them in Bureau and Lasalle counties. You can see these libraries in Walnut, Mendota, Peru, Lasalle, Granville, Spring Valley, Tiskilwa, Dover, and Princeton.
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Perchance, the co-founder of the Little free library movement, well, moved to Princeton! Then, the Princeton Public Library expressed an interest in little free libraries, and in 2016 Midwest Partners and the “big” library invited residents and patrons to follow their lead in building a creative selection of unique Little Free Library models.
The “take a book, leave a book” little libraries have made it possible for all kids and adults to exchange thousands of books to date in North Central Illinois — not to mention the millions of books exchanged worldwide.
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These little libraries are in front yards, next to schools and churches, at social service agencies, restaurants, coffee shops, and other businesses.
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As of January 2022, there were more than 138,000 registered Little Free Libraries in at least 112 countries.
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Lately, they’ve also inspired “blessing boxes” and micro pantries, as well as Little Free art galleries, gardens — and even “take a stick, leave a stick” boxes at dog parks!