ABOUT GREENBELT LITTLE FREE LIBRARIES PROJECT

A few months ago, the Little Free Library outside of the Old Greenbelt Theatre (what was previously the Makerspace) was removed due to an unstable support structure. Enter Girl Scout Troop 27: for ourGirl Scout Troop 27 decided that they wanted to do something about that. For their Silver Award project, we worked together to create a new Little Free Library to replace the old one. 

At first, the plan was to renovate an old cabinet from Community Forklift or another antiques shop, but unfortunately, we were unable to find anything. But that didn’t stop us: instead, we got to work downloading blueprints and finding scrap wood to build the Little Free Library from scratch. After a few very dusty meetings, the library was complete, with only a few minor hang ups along the way. (Being able to build the library almost entirely out of supplies in Iris’s mother’s stash was both thrifty and eco-conscious, as well as making Iris’s mother feel justified in her tendency to not want to get rid of things.) The Troop would also like to thank Jim and Gail Drake for the use of some of their power tools at a critical juncture.

But we didn’t want to just leave an empty wooden box under an awning. What’s a library without books, after all? So the troop headed down to the Labor Day festival to pick up some of the many books people had donated to the used book drive. We were primarily focused on children’s books– one thing we had noticed about other Little Free Libraries around town is that they were lacking in books that younger children could easily read. 

The last part of our project involved directing people to other Little Free Libraries they could use. We went for a walk around Old Greenbelt and created a map with the locations of nearby Little Free Libraries, as well as the actual local library. In each little free library on the map, you will find a QR code that directs you to the website above, with the map. We hope that this will allow for more books to be taken and added to the other libraries, giving people more options of what to read. Troop 27 encourages you to visit a little free library in your area, borrow a book, and once you’re done find another little free library via the map and leave it for others in a new spot!