Grand Junction Church Introduces Little Free Library

You may have noticed that the First Christian Church in Grand Junction off of First Street and Sherwood have set up little boxes in their front yard. The boxes look like little houses, with a windowed door and a latch to open the door.

One of the boxes is a cool concept that's becoming more and more popular called a Little Free Library. The Little Free Library is an interesting idea; you donate a book into the box, then take one out in exchange that suits your liking. The concept was conceived by a guy named Todd Bol, who wanted to pay tribute to his mother who was a former school teacher and librarian by giving back to the community and promoting literacy.

So, what's the church's other box for? If you look closely at the sign taped to the other box, you'll see that it's called a Love in Action Box, meant for donating other items that are then distributed to the less fortunate. The sign recommends things like warm clothing, non-perishable food items, and toiletries.

Not only is the Little Free Library a growing concept, but it's also backed by a non-profit organization of the same name. When he began the organization, Bol set a goal of constructing 2,510 of these little libraries, which is how many that Andrew Carnegie had founded at the time. Bol surpassed the goal in 2012.

While this is the first Little Free Library that I've seen in town, according to the Little Free Library map, there are at least 18 of these little boxes in the Grand Junction area alone.

So, next time you finish a book, instead of throwing it back on the shelf to collect dust, you might want to consider donating it to one of our many Little Free Libraries and picking up something new for the low, low price of zero dollars.