Locals who are thinking about building their own Little Free Library™ in Ballard are in luck with a funding opportunity offered by Sustainable Ballard.
What is a Little Free Library™ you may ask? It is a “take a book, return a book” gathering place where locals share their favorite books and stories. Simply, it is a box full of books where anyone can stop by, pick up a book and leave one to share.
The Little Free Library™ concept started in Wisconsin in 2009 when Todd Bol of Hudson built a model of a schoolhouse in tribute to his mother, filled it with books and put it in his front yard. The response to his idea was overwhelmingly popular with his neighbors and friends and from there it expanded. It is estimated that by the end of this year there will be 15, 000 Little Free Libraries in 55 countries worldwide.
If you are interested in fostering Ballard’s community spirit through the creation of your very own Little Free Library™ you can get funding assistance through Sustainable Ballard. Simply build your library, register it at the Little Free Library™ website, pay the $45 fee and then apply to Sustainable Ballard for a $20 grant to refund part of the registration fee. By registering online you need to agree to be on the Ballard Little Free Library™ map, and to place a map inside or near your Little Free Library™. Check out the photo above of Jenny’s Library at 7010 Dibble Ave NW.
For more information about the funding opportunity contact Paula Jenson from Sustainable Ballard at pjjenson1@gmail.com.
Check out the My Ballard story posted last year about a similar Neighborhood library that is in operation on the corner of 13th Ave NW and NW 77th.
Photo courtesy of Sustainable Ballard.
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