Community Corner
Have You Borrowed from this South Pasadena Library?
South Pasadena resident Donna Furey is the steward of the Little Free Library at 1610 Marengo St.
Donna Furey's front yard literally stops traffic. Foot traffic, that is.
Not just the certified wildlife habitat, as designated by the National Wildlife Federation, but the wooden and glass enclosure behind the brick wall: Furey is a steward of South Pasadena's Little Free Library. These individually maintained libraries, which you can read more about on the Little Free Library website, are found all over the world and aim to bring communities closer.
On a recent afternoon, browsing the Marengo Street selection, one found several New York Times bestselling novels and non-fiction works lining the wooden shelves. The sign prompted, "Take a book. Return a book.''
Find out what's happening in South Pasadenawith free, real-time updates from Patch.
The Little Free Library's mission, according to its website, is:
- To promote literacy and the love of reading by building free book exchanges worldwide.
- To build a sense of community as we share skills, creativity and wisdom across generations.
- To build 2,510 Libraries--as many as Andrew Carnegie--and keep going.
"Since we live where there is plenty of foot traffic, I decided to build one from a flower bulb shipping crate I had in my garage,'' Furey wrote in an email to Patch, noting she also used bamboo grown in her yard.
Furey's 19-year-old son, Tom Craig, helped, as did a neighbor. Her husband, Charlie Craig, suggested they mount it on a post, so he took care of that. The collective effort was a success, and has been available to folks since summer 2012.
"It is a lot fun seeing new books show up and watching passersby discover the library. It's also nice to occasionally meet the library users,'' Furey said, noting her home is half a block from Marengo Elementary School, so they often have a lot of people walking by.
Find out what's happening in South Pasadenawith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Patch Asks: Have you ever borrowed a book from the Little Free Library? Did you know it was there?
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