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<\/p>\nBy Ruthann Carr and Heather Michon, Correspondents<\/p>\n
Jill Tartaglino first saw a Little Free Library about four years ago. \u201cI thought: that is such a cool thing!\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
So when the holidays rolled around, she told her husband, \u201cthat\u2019s what I want for Christmas.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tom Tartaglino and their son, Travis, built a small enclosure out of scrap wood with installed two shelves and a glass door. They constructed a stand and placed it near their home on Buck Island Road, off Riverside Drive at Lake Monticello. Jill stocked it with books.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was worried at first that nobody would come,\u201d she admits.<\/p>\n
But people did find it, and over the past three years, it\u2019s become a quiet fixture in the neighborhood.<\/p>\n
Little Free Libraries are based on the \u201ctake a book, leave a book\u201d exchange you might see in any urban coffee house or other public space. <\/p>\n
The movement began in Wisconsin in 2009, when a man named Todd Bol built a model one-room schoolhouse in honor of his mother. He put it at the end of his driveway and filled it with books. People loved the tiny \u201cEsther Bol Memorial Library,\u201d and it soon evolved into a non-profit effort to make books available to all.<\/p>\n
Today, there are over 75,000 registered Little Free Libraries in 85 countries. Four of them are here in Fluvanna County.<\/p>\n
Two have been installed by the Rotary Club of Fluvanna County: one near St. Joseph\u2019s Church on Cameron Street in Columbia, another near Sal\u2019s Restaurant on Route 15 in Fork Union.<\/p>\n
Rudy Garcia, past president of the chapter, says the grant-funded project was part of the Rotary Club\u2019s commitment to providing opportunities for local youth.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThe club decided on the locations based on where we knew there to be a need for access to books for kids who didn\u2019t have easy access to the public library,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The newest addition to Fluvanna\u2019s Little Free Library family is the \u201cFort Thomas Library at Graythom Farm\u201d on Main Street in Palmyra.<\/p>\n
Haden Parrish, an advisor for the Virginia College Advising Corps and grandson of E.W. Thomas, started building the little library with his father last October, after moving to Graythom Farm.<\/p>\n
E.W. Thomas once played on the hill that later became Graythom Farm, dubbing it \u201cFort Thomas,\u201d a vantage point where \u201che and his pals could overlook Palmyra and protect it from the imaginary invading Nazis,\u201d Parish explained on Facebook. An avid reader, E.W. developed a habit of writing \u201cFort Thomas\u201d in each book added to his sizable personal library.<\/p>\n
Although his grandfather died before he was born, Parrish says E.W.\u2019s love of reading helped inspire his own, and it felt \u201conly right to name the library after my grandfather\u2019s childhood dreams.\u201d<\/p>\n
Inside the library is a guest book. \u201cI\u2019d love for all who visit the library to write something in it — either what books they\u2019re donating, what their favorite books are, simply sign their name, or even draw a picture!\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019m hoping to include a recipe exchange box, a bookmark trading spot, or maybe a few other things to make it a true community effort.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jill Tartaglino has a similar book in her Little Library. Much of what happens in the little nook at the top of her driveway is silent. Books come and books go. But every once in a while, someone will leave a note.<\/p>\n
Just a few weeks ago, a woman named Shelley wrote: \u201cStumbled across this wonderful library! Thank you — perfect read for the beach!\u201d She punctuated her signature with a big smiley face.<\/p>\n
Building your own Little Free Library<\/strong> Becoming a steward (Little Free Library-speak for caretaker) is pretty straightforward.<\/p>\n Depending on your comfort level with power tools, you can build your own, have someone build one for you, buy a pre-made structure or kit from from Little Free Library. You place it in an accessible spot, register it with Little Free Library, stock it with some books, and tell all your friends and neighbors. For more info, visit https:\/\/littlefreelibrary.org\/start<\/a><\/p>\n The Fluvanna Review<\/em> has surplus newspaper boxes that can be turned into little free libraries.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Ruthann Carr and Heather Michon, Correspondents Jill Tartaglino first saw a Little Free Library about four years ago. \u201cI thought: that is such a cool thing!\u201d she says. So when the holidays rolled around, she told her husband, \u201cthat\u2019s what I want for Christmas.\u201d Tom Tartaglino and their son, Travis, built a small enclosure […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":15610,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[132],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15629","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fluvannareview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15629"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fluvannareview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fluvannareview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fluvannareview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fluvannareview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15629"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/fluvannareview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15629\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15630,"href":"https:\/\/fluvannareview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15629\/revisions\/15630"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fluvannareview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15610"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fluvannareview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15629"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fluvannareview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15629"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fluvannareview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15629"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nInterested in starting your own Little Free Library? There\u2019s always room for more. The city of Lake Worth, Florida (population 30,000) has 80, with another 20 or more on the horizon.<\/p>\n