There are six library branches in Butte County but the county also has 16 Little Free Libraries scattered in parks throughout the area.
The idea of the Little Free Libraries is that folks can take a free book and leave a book in exchange. No library card is required and there are no penalties for not returning the book or not leaving a book in exchange.
“We just really want people to read and enjoy books,” said Oliver Allen, senior library assistant and outreach/volunteer coordinator at the library’s Chico branch.
Little Free Libraries look like small houses, but they’re more like a cupboard. They’re 2-foot-by-2-foot, painted green with pitched roofs and cabinet-style front doors. They rest on sturdy posts 44 inches high and most are set back just a few inches from the curb, making them ADA height compliant.
Each Little Free Library holds 40 to 50 books including fiction and non-fiction for children, teens and adults.
“We try to keep a variety of books, a little something for everybody, older and newer titles. Mostly paperbacks but sometimes there are hardcover books,” Allen said.
About three years ago the Butte County Library was looking for “new ways to integrate the library with the community groups and neighborhoods to increase literacy,” Allen said.
Partners
“We settled on creating partnerships with the Chico Area Recreation and Park District, Feather River Recreation and Park District and Paradise Recreation and Park District to set up Little Free Libraries in high traffic, public areas,” said Allen.
The library also created partnerships with some local businesses to feature Little Free Libraries.
The result of these partnerships was the establishment of Little Free Libraries in parks throughout Chico. In Paradise there’s one at the Terry Ashe Recreation Center, and in Oroville, Little Free Libraries are located in both Riverbend and Martin Luther King Jr. parks.
There are also Little Free Libraries at the general stores in Berry Creek and Cohasset. In Chico, Has Beans Coffee House and Boucher Street Market are both homes for Little Free Libraries.
Volunteers, called “stewards” who typically live nearby, manage the Little Free Libraries. They keep the small libraries stocked and clean.
Hilary Herman has served as the steward for the free library in Rotary Park in Chico for nearly three years. She said she “loves libraries” and when she heard about Butte County Library’s Little Free Libraries she wanted to establish one to “do something for her neighborhood.”
“There’s not a day that goes by that I drive down the street and see someone poking their head into the library or sitting on a bench in the park reading a book from the library. I love the fact that people get excited about having access to books. It brings me and my neighbors great joy and it’s made an improvement in Rotary Park,” Herman said.
Stewards rotate books into and out of the libraries. The inventory comes from the local libraries, patrons who “take a book and leave a book,” as well as private citizens and local businesses.
“My neighbors bring me books. Folks who are having yard sales give me books, and Show Love Thrift Store is incredibly generous, giving me free access to children’s books when I need them,” Herman said.
In all the time she’s been steward for the Rotary Park library, Herman said there’s never been any vandalism, though a couple of times the entire inventory has been depleted.
“Honestly, I’ve never gotten anything but ‘thank yous,’ especially from our transient population who tell me or leave notes saying how much they appreciate having something to read,” Herman said.
