My Tacoma nephews and niece are operating what is known as a Little Free Library.
The Little Free Library concept began in the United States in 2009 in Hudson, Wisconsin when Todd Bol installed on his lawn a little library which looked like a one-room schoolhouse.
The Little Free Library soon became a national, then global sensation, now with registered Little Free Libraries in all 50 American states and 70 nations around the world.
The Little Free Library is headquartered, logically, in its birthplace of Hudson, Wisconsin. Via the official Little Free Library website you can find all the information you need to start up a Little Free Library at your house in your town.
The Little Free Library is also on Facebook. And there is a Free Little Library article in Wikipedia, from which I gleaned most of the information I gleaned about the Little Free Library concept.
David, Theo and Ruby told me there were several Free Little Library installations in their neighborhood, in addition to their Tin Man.
On the early evening of my last night in Tacoma, last month, the poodles, Blue and Eddie, convinced David to convince Mama Kristin to take us on a walk. On that walk we came upon one of their neighborhood's Free Little Library installations. This one was themed to be gas or power meters of some kinds. David checked out a book.
Shortly after visiting the power meter Free Little Library we came upon a neighbor who had simply arrayed a lot of books on their lawn, adjacent to the sidewalk, free for the taking by any passerby. David and Mama Kristin picked up several books at that location, later checking them into their Tin Man Free Little Library when we returned home.
David told me about some of the other Free Little Libraries in their neighborhood and described their themes. The only one retained by my memory was the Lego Free Little Library. David, Theo and Ruby have a thing about Legos which makes any mention of such, in any form, memorable to me.
Tacoma's well designed streets make for excellent Free Little Library locations, what with sidewalks on both sides of the streets, and with grassy, landscaped medians between sidewalk and street, at most locations.
A town without sidewalks would not be suitable for a Free Little Library.
Such as Fort Worth, Texas.
There are some sidewalks on some sides of some streets in that forlorn Texas town. But, most of the town is sidewalk free, including most of the part of that town I lived in for way too long.
However, in a town which is predominantly semi-literate there likely would not be much demand or desire to install Free Little Libraries, even if sidewalks facilitating pedestrians were available...
While I have seen many Little Free Libraries in Seattle, I've never seen one in Texas, or in Ocean Shores. However, the used book supply in OS is pretty well cornered by "Friends of the Library" who sell the used books for 50 cents and then provide a couple of old, repainted mail boxes so you can redonate them.
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