Little Free Library

DB~ and I met through a mutual friend of ours, but our relationship first started out due to a shared interest in geocaching.  We still cache when we go on trips to different cities and countries, but we only periodically due it around Pittsburgh.

However, DB~'s love of books led to her to find another interest that is map-based called Little Free Library.  The name pretty much says it all, but to further drive the point home...it is a little box that holds 30-50 books and is placed outside of a home.  You bring a book with you to replace a book that you may want to take.

There aren't a ton of them in Pittsburgh yet, but we did find one relatively close to our area in Wexford.  At the start of May, we tracked it down and exchanged a book for another.  It's a little wooden box with a glass door.  It appears to be weather-resistant, but I would still be skeptical of the books' condition in winter.

As luck would have it, when we were in New Orleans we stumbled upon another one during our travels through the Garden District.  This one was curated by a little girl, apparently, as there was a doll house nearby with a little handmade gravel walkway from the dollhouse to the Little Free Library.

Anyone can install one of these Little Free Libraries near their house or in a public green space.  I imagine you could build your own of these -- it's really just a big bird house with a door mounted on a 4x4 post -- but you can also purchase one ready-made for $400+ at the website.

I have a feeling that these are going to be popping up in neighborhoods with more frequency in the near future.