Little Free Libraries

“The very existence of libraries affords the best evidence that we may yet have hope for the future of man.”
― T.S. Eliot

The first time I photographed a Little Free Library was in 2014.  I was visiting family in Florida and admired an adorable

small library surrounded by flowers.  I revisited it to capture what I was seeing in a photograph.

As an educator, I feel it is essential to be a lifelong learner.

I have been thoroughly enjoying an incredible class I am currently taking, Shooting with Intention, with Aline Smithson. Aline is a fantastic artist, educator, and founder and editor of Lenscratch. If you are a photographer unfamiliar with Lenscratch.com, please spend some time exploring today. I enjoy receiving daily emails from Lenscratch that add inspiration to each day.

For one of my homework assignments for the class, I needed to create one image consisting of many images of the same subject.

I wondered what I would be interested in photographing many of the same subjects.

My love for books led me to think of the Free Little Libraries I encountered that early day in Florida and the two I passed during my walks in my neighborhood.

I had only one week to complete the assignment. I wondered how on earth I would find many of these little libraries in such a short period of time. With a little investigation, I found the website for Little Free Libraries. Using the website, I discovered there are Little Free Libraries in all 50 United States, 120 countries, and seven continents.

Using a map on the website, I found locations of these beautiful libraries near our route planned for scouting for an upcoming workshop in the Hilton Head area. Making our way to and from the Hilton Head area, we found and photographed many of these free libraries. Each had their own personality. We learned a great deal about the communities that housed these libraries in our travels.  Some of the libraries listed on the map were no longer at the given locations.

Once home, I created a grid of these little libraries.

Each had its own personality and told stories of the community in which it was located.

After looking at my grid, I decided to add a border.  This border was created from a metal topper of one of the last libraries we visited during that weekend.

I had such a great time photographing these little libraries.  I will always photograph and encourage others to photograph what they love.  Books are near and dear to my heart.

What are you photographing that you love?