Libraries on the Loose: 10 West Hill/Renton Little Free Libraries

Jack’s Library can be found in Upper Rainier Beach.

The West Hill neighborhoods of Bryn Mawr, Lakeridge, Skyway, and Earlington are dotted with Little Free Libraries—tiny, usually homemade book shelters serve as “take-a-book, leave-a-book” stations where neighbors can share their favorite literature and stories.

“This is an area where a lot of kids walk to school,” said one West Hill neighbor with a Little Free Library. “Also there is a fire station and food bank and post office. A young neighbor moved in and has motivated myself and others to own the neighborhood an help make it a better place to live.”

According to littlefreelibrary.org—a nonprofit organization that inspires a love of reading, builds community, and sparks creativity by fostering neighborhood book exchanges around the world—the movement began in 2009 when a Wisconsin man built a model of a one-room schoolhouse as a tribute to his mother, a former school teacher who loved reading. He filled it with books and put it on a post in his front yard. His friends and neighbors loved it so much that he built several more and gave them away. Each one had a sign that said FREE BOOKS.

“We wanted to have a little free library in our neighborhood,” said another West Hill neighbor. “I went looking for some materials at a local recycle material store and found that they had old newspaper boxes for sale. I modified one, giving it a roof and a basement.”

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