An article that she read in Parade magazine and her love for books led Heather Sheppard to start up something big in La Mesa. The story was about Todd Bol, a schoolteacher in Hudson, Wisconsin, who started up his Little Free Library project in 2009.
An article that she read in Parade magazine and her love for books led Heather Sheppard to start up something big in La Mesa. The story was about Todd Bol, a schoolteacher in Hudson, Wisconsin, who started up his Little Free Library project in 2009.
Bol’s idea for miniature free book library was simple. Take a book (or books) you want and leave books you would like to pass on. The books are gifts to the community and each other. You do not have to leave a book to take one. Take what you would like to read and then pay it forward however you can. The small schoolhouse-shaped first Little Free Library sparked a national craze for people who love books.
Heather and Dave Sheppard, residents of Fletcher Hills, got in on the LFL movement 2013. Calling herself a “lifelong book lover,” Heather Sheppard said she thought it would be a perfect fit for the neighborhood and a good way to give something back.
“I worry that books are being forgotten in our society and this seemed like a nice way to help keep reading alive,” she said.
Heather Sheppard asked her husband to build her one as a birthday gift. They registered online with LFL and looked at some of the LFL design ideas online. He designed freehand a birdhouse-shaped library and they set it up on April 2013, making the Shepards the first people in East County to set one up.
The neighbors and friends in Fletcher Hills are so generous, Sheppard said, that she often has to remove books due to overcrowding. She sometimes themes the collection according to the month or holiday.
“Once our library was up and operating I was so thrilled with it that I brought the idea up to The La Mesa City Employees’ Association to see if they had interest in sponsoring a library. They felt it would be a great way to give back to the community we work for,” said Heather Sheppard.
A couple of the members scouted locations and received approval from the La Mesa Sprouts and Lisa’s ‘Lil Tykes. Dave Sheppard once again built the libraries.
“Our union president painted them, and other members installed them,” he said, who manages the Facebook packages and checks the structures and inventories.
Employees donated books to the little libraries located at Sprouts and Lisa’s Lil Tykes.
The wave of popularity of LFLs has spread throughout East County. Currently, twelve of them can be found in Lakeside, La Mesa, El Cajon, Santee and La Mesa.
Marion and Artt Snell of Santee set theirs up on Thanksgiving weekend in 2013.
“For several years we had been giving out books on Halloween. This just seemed like a wonderful way to extend that idea throughout the year,” said Marion Snell, a retired teacher.
The Snells chose to buy a pre-built library from LFL and then had their regular handyman stain and varnish it as well as building the stand.
Before the official opening of their own Little Free Library, the Snells handed out flyers to the all the houses on their street and two cross-streets. They even offered snacks and mulled cider.
“Friends frequently give me books for our library and we also donate books from out house. We also had a neighborhood boy and his dad donate a large number of books he had outgrown recently,” she said.
The Snells aim to keep their library well stocked. Everyone from children, families and adults borrow the books.
“We try to keep a mixture of titles for all ages available. People just take a book or books when they see something they are interested in reading. When I check the library there are frequently new books that have come from our users,” she said.
Kids’ books are always in demand and usually what Snell purchases, although she will pick up other books that may be in high demand, such as recent bestsellers.
For both the Sheppards and the Snells, the best thing about the Little Free Library is the way it brings neighbors together.
“My favorite things to see are when people first discover the libraries or when they sit on the bench near ours and read together. It is really heartwarming,” said Heather Sheppard.
Visit www.littlefreelibrary.org for more information on becoming part of the LFL movement.
