The Observation Deck

On a lighter note…

I am preparing a story about our city's Little Free Libraries. I have assembled information on four of them, at which point I thought I would be done… but I discovered another two, more or less randomly, since I began researching.

So if anyone knows of another, do advise me. So far I'm aware of LFLs at these locations:
Hilliard
Grace
Elbur
Parkway Drive
Garfield School
North Coast Health

Otherwise, I should have something ready for the next LO.

I discovered another one on the west side of Lincoln just north of Madison.

mjkuhns wrote:On a lighter note…

I am preparing a story about our city's Little Free Libraries. I have assembled information on four of them, at which point I thought I would be done… but I discovered another two, more or less randomly, since I began researching.

So if anyone knows of another, do advise me. So far I'm aware of LFLs at these locations:
Hilliard
Grace
Elbur
Parkway Drive
Garfield School
North Coast Health

Otherwise, I should have something ready for the next LO.

Edgewater--near Lakeland

Brian Essi wrote:Edgewater--near Lakeland

Oh good, more work… Seriously, though, thank you!

(This makes eight in Lakewood, I think. How cool is this? I could turn my article into a series, if I had time…)

I love these little libraries! I just populated the bookshelf at The Root Cafe with 10 or so books. --Some good stuff, too!

Add Cliffdale. Its LFL even has its own web page: http://ourlittlefreelibrary.org/

By all means let me know if anyone finds more, though at this point I am accepting that whatever account I write will be abridged. After discovering five more of these in just a few weeks, I strongly suspect that there are even more waiting to be discovered.

While in Boston last week, I found this "Not so little" Free Libarary along the historic Freedom Trail.

Cliffdale, two houses north of Lake Ave on he west side of he street.

I found another one today. It's outside Haynes Nursery School, 1375 West Clifton Blvd.

Add this to the nine I managed to find earlier this year, and it looks like we're up to double digits.

I discovered this very understated little library at Lincoln Elementary, on Election Day.





Looks like it is filled with children's books.

mjkuhns wrote:I discovered this very understated little library at Lincoln Elementary, on Election Day.

Looks like it is filled with children's books.

I took a quick look at the selection and it seemed to be of good to high quality children's books. There's something odd about approaching it from the parking lot. It's behind the playground fence and there are signs about walking on some of the adjacent ground. Looks like the only approved approach is using those paver stones.

Thanks to Mike Deneen for tipping me off about the new Little Free Library in front of St. Ed's.



I can confirm that this is very new. I spoke with the school's librarian this morning, and she had only just learned about it, herself. (It may be someone's Boy Scout project.)

If anyone wants to fill this library up, she suggested taking donations to the school's main desk for now.

I believe this brings our total to a dozen.

Scouring the city in the course of a campaign always reveals something new.

Once again, that has included a Little Free Library. This one is on the east side of Arthur Ave, a couple houses south of Athens.



This is a standard model, though it appears to complement the paint choices of the home behind it. And it has this interesting "micro-plaza" in front of it.




I'm not positive of the actual address because, if you look closely, you'll see that a cat plopped down right in front of the house-number. (I think it must be 2119 or 2121.)

This brings the total count for Lakewood up to at least 13, though. I'm certain that it's more than that, too; I saw what looked like another unfamiliar LFL somewhere in Lakewood, a few weeks ago, but amid the rush of campaign activity the location has escaped me. If anyone has tips please add them to this thread.

That's the house I grew up in

Members of the original Lakewood Ohio facebook group shared the location of three more Little Free Libraries in Lakewood, in response to my photos of the Arthur Ave library.

Two are residential libraries, with house-matching colors, especially this one at 1210 Ethel Ave:





There is definitely room in this one if you want to donate a book.

This library at 1323 Brockley (just south of the train tracks) is more customized. (e.g. it fastens with magnets, so don't worry about turning the handle; just pull the door open.)





Finally (for now), Grant School has a wonderful little free children's library by the play area. You can find your way to it from either Elmwood or Victoria.





Definitely room in this one, too, if you have some kids books to share.

…

One of the things I love about these little libraries is what they add to shared, outdoor space. One of the best things about Tokyo is how there is some surprise on nearly every street, and often one that you can interact with in some way. A tiny shrine or temple tucked into a residential street; a shop hidden down the humblest alley. These libraries provide something of the same "bonus" on our long streets of private homes.

(P.S. Let's get a historical marker for the Stan Austin childhood home!)