Family's little free library has helped them meet neighbours

In the summer of 2014, Katie Bisset decided to adopt an idea she'd found on Pinterest, a social media platform dedicated to creative projects.

Her carpenter husband, Tristan Legare, constructed a little free library out of wood scraps, and installed it in front of their Sudbury home. It's located on St. Clair Street, across the road from St. Francis Catholic Elementary School.

“I think a lot of people were curious,” said Bisset. “We'd see people sort of slowing down in their cars and walking by. It probably took people walking by a few times to actually have the courage to come up to it and see what it was about.”

The small, weather-proof structure contains several shelves of books people are free to take. They're also encouraged to drop off reading material they no longer need.

Bisset encourages people to check it out, whether or not they live in the neighbourhood. Sometimes the little free library is stuffed with books, and sometimes the shelves are empty.

The family has gotten a lot of positive comments. One neighbour was, however, concerned it might be targeted by vandals, but the only issue Bisset has had so far is religious propaganda being dropped off.

The project has also helped her to get to know her neighbours.

“It's hard to get to know people in your neighbourhood these days,” said Bisset, the mother of two small sons, Wyatt, 3, and Townes, nine months.

“It's not the same as it used to be, with everybody out and about. This neighbourhood is also very mixed with rental and permanent residents. We get a lot of turnover.

“It's just a nice way to get to know everyone. There's more sense of community, and people take a little more pride in their neighbourhood.”

Bisset said little free libraries are common in southern Ontario and in the United States.

There's even a website dedicated to them, littlefreelibrary.org, where people can register their project.

Touting the power of what it calls “curbside literacy,” the website said there's more than 36,000 of these book exchanges in the world, sharing an estimated 9.3 million books annually.

Bisset hasn't registered with the website, but there is another little free library registered in Greater Sudbury, on Penache Lake Road in Whitefish.