Toronto's radical librarians critique Little Free Library

The "take-a-book, leave-a-book" structures are largely located in white, affluent neighbourhoods in Toronto, study authors say, not areas most in need.

Thestar.com
May 10, 2017
By David Hains

Toronto’s radical librarians do not like the Little Free Library organization.

In a study published in the Journal of Radical Librarianship, which is real, Ryerson librarian Jane Schmidt and University of Toronto reference specialist Jordan Hale argue that the neighbourhood mini-libraries don’t live up to their stated goals.

“Who could critique a little birdhouse of books?” Hale rhetorically asked Metro, adding she is strenuously pro-literacy and pro-trading-books-by-the-side-of-the-road. But their paper does just that.

“We posit that in absence of any research or evidence of an issue to be addressed ... simply encouraging literacy in an already information-rich and privileged environment is hardly a heroic charitable act,” Schmidt and Hale wrote.

“We don’t have any issue with book swaps or exchanges,” Hale explained in an interview, adding she has obtained many excellent books that way. She is not, however, pro-Little Free Library, stating her issue is with the organization, not the idea.

The Wisconsin-based non-profit started in 2009 when Todd Bol erected a charming “take-a-book, leave-a-book” structure on his property. After his successful experiment went viral online, the organization grew. There are now 50,000 registered Little Free Libraries worldwide.

The registration fee for each library ranges from $42 to $89 (U.S.), and the organization sells pre-fabricated units for $179 to $1,254. Participants can also build their own unit and pay just the registration fee.

Hale and Schmidt mapped out the locations of the registered take-a-book, leave-a-book fixtures in Toronto. She found that they were predominantly located in white, affluent neighbourhoods and clustered in locations already well served by the public library system. Despite the organization’s stated goal, they were not located in “book deserts,” those neighbourhoods most in need.

Little Free Library also provides no-cost depots through a donor-driven fund, but Hale claims, “We didn’t see any evidence that the money was going anywhere.”

The non-profit told Metro that they have set up hundreds of units through the donor program, including 40 in the U.S. over the past eight months, and look to continue to add.

“Through these Little Libraries, millions of books are shared each year,” spokesperson Margret Aldrich wrote in an email.

Hale expressed concern that some jurisdictions turn to Little Free Libraries following cuts to full-scale libraries, but they are not an adequate substitute.

She encouraged people to support their local public library, use the community-led library tool kit and to support literacy initiatives in communities that need them most.