More than 100,000 Little Free Library book-sharing boxes dot the globe through a grassroots effort to promote both reading and neighborly vibes. Anyone who comes along can take a book or leave a book.
Most of the Little Free Libraries stand atop a wooden pole along streets and walking paths, but one notable exception is tucked inside a bird observation hut at the edge of a small lake on Hopkinsville’s north side. While it’s not on a beaten path, LFL No. 7669 at the Jeffers Bend Environmental Center is about to enjoy a brief moment of fame.
The nonprofit LFL organization and ABC television’s “Good Morning America” picked the Jeffers Bend box for a promotion that is slated to air during the morning news program on Tuesday. It is one of 150 Little Free Libraries selected nationwide to receive two copies of a mystery novel that is GMA’s book club pick for February.
As the steward for the Jeffers Bend LFL, Beth Roberts recently received the books in the mail. (She didn’t want to reveal the title before the announcement on television. It’s a mystery involving classical musicians.) On Monday, she delivered one copy to the book box inside the bird observation hut. The second book will be delivered after she finishes reading it. She was about 100 pages into the story on Monday afternoon.
Roberts, who retired from the state Administrative Office of the Courts, has helped create several LFLs in Hopkinsville. Her husband, Jim Roberts, helps her. Currently, they keep an eye on the book boxes at Jeffers Bend and at the Hopkinsville Greenway trailheads on Pardue Lane and North Drive.
Beth is also involved with BookCrossing, a practice of leaving books in random places for others to pick up, read, and then pass along in the same random fashion for another reader. The website provides a way for readers to track the path of their books after their turn them loose into the world.
“I like to know where they go after I release them,” she said.
Roberts estimates she’s released 3,000 books. One made it all the way to Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Africa, according to the online tracking information.
“I like used books,” she said. “You can tell when a lot of people have passed one around.”
There are several Little Free Libraries in Hopkinsville registered with the nonprofit organization and listed on its map. A few others in town are not registered but still distribute free books. This map allows anyone to search for the registered libraries by location.
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. She spent 30 years as a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition.
