Little Free Library installed in Merrick neighborhood

Oct. 9, 2019 | Danielle Eaton
DanielleE@thereminder.com

The Little Free Library was recently installed in West Springfield’s Merrick Neighborhood as a way to enhance the area without spending a lot of money.
Reminder Publishing submitted photo

WEST SPRINGFIELD – The Merrick neighborhood in West Springfield gained their own little library.

The Little Free Library, which was recently installed, will allow anyone who wants to read a book to borrow directly from it.

West Springfield Director of Community Development, Morgan Drewniany, told Reminder Publishing the project first came about in a “brainstorming session.”

“We’ve been trying to work to create a little bit more public engagement in the neighborhood,” she said.

The “oversized, birdhouse-shaped box” is located at 389 Main St. near the Alice Corson Park, and was built during the week of Sept. 23, painted on Sept. 27, and then dried over the weekend. After it was finished Drewniany picked up a box of books from the library, which had been taken out of circulation and were no longer being used, and filled the box on Main St.

Drewniany said there’s no formal checkout system, but instead it’s a sort of “honor system” where they believe people will treat the library with respect.

They’re also hoping that people, if they have books they no longer read or want to get rid of, will donate them to the little library so that others may enjoy them.

“We’d like people to, when they take a book, to leave a book from their home or one they borrowed,” she said. “People are welcome to take a book if they’re in the area. We encourage people to leave books if they have some laying around their house.”

This, she said, is one of the things that will make the library “a cool little experience.”

She also told Reminder Publishing that the little library is a “low-budget project that will make a big difference to the neighbors.”

The Little Free Library is open to everyone including both city residents and those just visiting the area.

 

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