Little Free Libraries promote kindness and literacy

Peek inside one of the three Little Free Libraries in Fountain Hills and one may find an array of books ranging in genre from history, fiction, children’s literature and even music CDs. Located on E. Ponderosa Dr. and near the ramadas at Golden Eagle Park and Four Peaks Park in Fountain Hills, these Little Free Libraries are three of more than 100,000 libraries across all seven continents and all 50 states.

“Even though Fountain Hills is fairly small and really well connected already, it makes us feel a little bit more connected to each other,” Viree Byrne said, regent of the Four Peaks Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), which sponsored the two libraries located at Golden Eagle and Four Peaks Park. Built by local craftsmen Bill Fraser and Dave Eyer of Fountain Hills Toymakers Inc., Byrne said she was made aware of Little Free Libraries by her Literacy Promotion Committee members Rachel Moore and Pam Stivers.

The Little Free Library at Golden Eagle Park was dedicated in March of 2020. Met with engagement from the community, DAR dedicated a second library at Four Peaks Park in April of 2021.

The third library along E. Ponderosa Dr. has been around for two years and is registered to Kim Sugg, Fountain Hills resident and lover of books. As a personal touch to her Little Free Library, Sugg keeps a dog bowl filled with water and a reading bench for passersby.

Sugg said she checks on the library six times a day to keep the water cool and rotate the books as needed. She enjoys meeting people and when the weather is temperate, enjoys adding flowers to the library and decorations during the holiday season.

Sugg said that whenever her sister visits a new city, she’ll look up the Little Free Library world map on littlefreelibrary.org, hoping to find a taste of home in an unfamiliar city.

Community-based movement

Little Free Libraries is the creation of the late Todd H. Bol, who built the first Little Free Library book exchange in 2009, launching a worldwide book-sharing movement. After serving as its executive director for nearly a decade, Bol died in 2018 from complications of pancreatic cancer.

This year marks 20 years since Little Free Library was established in Hudson, Wis. Its mission is to build a community of readers by giving everyone free access to books.

Members of the DAR regularly check the two park libraries to ensure they’re being used and fully stocked.

Byrne enjoys hearing stories of library visitors finding such items as a stone with the word “shine” painted on it, a small donation of 29 cents stacked inside the library door and even an unwrapped music CD.

“One day at Golden Eagle Park, we had a visiting baseball team in town and someone came up to me and asked, ‘What is this?’” Byrne recalled. “I told them what the Little Free Library was and they said, ‘I wish we had something like this in our town.’”

According to Byrne, a new DAR-sponsored Little Free Library is already built. The next step is finding the appropriate location and getting it approved. As an avid reader, she said these libraries are a perfect resource for readers young and old.

“It’s an activity that you can do throughout your lifespan,” she said.

Established in 1890, DAR is a nonprofit, nonpolitical organization with missions of patriotism, education and historic preservation. For information about joining the Four Peaks Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, visit fourpeaks.arizonadar.org. For more information about Little Free Libraries and to see a world map of registered libraries, visit littlefreelibrary.org.

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