Let's Write about Little Free Diverse Libraries

Echo report published in #BookRiot, by Stacey Megally

Spontaneous, honest, and joyful expressions happen when kids recognize themselves in books.

Little Free Diverse Libraries

Like, when a girl and her mom visited a Little Free Diverse Library in Arlington, Massachusetts. If you haven’t yet encountered a Little Free Diverse Library (LFDL) in your neighborhood and are wondering what it is, it’s exactly what you think: a Little Free Library (LFL) dedicated to keeping books by BIPOC authors and about BIPOC stories in its collection.

Little Free Libraries (LFL) have been beloved by avid readers since they first started popping up more than a decade ago. We love spotting the charming, wooden boxes at parks, on walking trails, in front yards, and other places in our cities. Not only is the idea of taking and leaving books a clever way for us to celebrate our love of reading and stories, but it’s also a way to connect with others. In fact, it’s become such a significant part of many readers’ lives that we’ve accumulated a trove of posts specifically about Little Free Libraries at Book Riot.

Little Free Libraries are beloved by avid readers.

They first started popping up more than a decade ago. We love spotting the charming, wooden boxes at parks, on walking trails, in front yards, and other places in our cities. Not only is the idea of taking and leaving books a clever way for us to celebrate our love of reading and stories, but it’s also a way to connect with others. In fact, it’s become such a significant part of many readers’ lives that we’ve accumulated a trove of posts specifically about Little Free Libraries here at Book Riot.

But there are ways to improve on even the things we love most — especially when you take some time to truly examine them. When it comes to Little Free Libraries, it’s time for us to ask ourselves if we’re truly celebrating all stories and if we’re making our best effort to connect with all people. Research indicates that Little Free Libraries tend to be located in mid- to high-income neighborhoods whose residents are well-educated and overwhelmingly white.

Last spring, when lifelong book lover and New York County public school counselor Sarah Kamya strolled her predominantly white neighborhood, stopping to browse at the three Little Free Libraries she passes every day, she noticed something for the first time: a clear lack of books by BIPOC writers telling BIPOC stories. This, Kamya decided, was an issue she could do something about — and that’s when Little Free Diverse Libraries was born. Now the movement, which has spread all over the U.S. and to a handful of other countries, is rapidly growing and evolving every day.

So, how did Kamya grow Little Free Diverse Libraries into what it is today? Where does she hope to take it?

Most importantly, how can we, as readers, get involved? 

In my search for answers, I reached out to founder Sarah Kamya as well as to several LFDL distributors and owners around the country to get their insight.

How the Little Free Diverse Libraries started:

At the end of May 2020, in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death, Kamya had an idea about how to use Little Free Libraries to help educate her community about Black perspectives.

So, she began raising money to buy books by Black authors from Black-owned bookstores in order to diversify all of the LFLs in her town of Arlington, MA. She created an Instagram account (@littlefreediverselibraries) and an Amazon Wishlist and then began sending books to her friends in other cities and states, so they could diversify LFLs in their communities.

“I never expected LFDL to take off and at the speed that it did,” Kamya told me. “It felt like in one moment I was sitting at the table with my parents sharing my idea, and the next there were 500 books on my dining room table, and I was sending books to every Little Free Library in the United States.”

Because of the overwhelmingly supportive response, Kamya achieved her goal of sending diverse books to every LFL in the country, in just two months.

In fact, Little Free Libraries were diversified in all 50 states, plus several were “dedicated specifically to Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) voices.”

Little free diverse libraries today:

One year after Kamya started LFDL, it’s become a nonprofit organization, which she named Diverstories. “LFDL has impacted my life significantly,” Kamay told me. Not only has she had to learn to balance her full-time job as a counselor with running a nonprofit, but she can also “no longer go into bookstores without purchasing a book to put in a library” or “pass a Little Free Library and not stop to check out what books are inside.”

After working with more than 100 individuals and ten schools to add diverse literature to the Little Free Libraries, Kamya has been able to connect more deeply both within her own community and with readers all over the country, and is amazed at “how spreading diverse books through Little Free Libraries can form such deep connections, thoughtful conversations, and inspiring stories.”

One example that stands out to Kamya happened at Forest Hills High School in Queens, New York, which received a granted library from Kamya. I reached out to Lindsay Klemas (@fhhslibrary), the librarian at the school, who related her perspective on this story to me as well. Klemas held a LFDL opening ceremony to which she invited a handful of students she hadn’t seen in many months due to the pandemic. Klemas told me that one of the students she invited “had become very withdrawn” in a way that was derailing her path to graduation. “This event allowed them to get back on track and ultimately graduate.” To Sarah Kamya, that story confirms that “the Little Free Diverse Library project spans beyond what I ever imagined, and can touch people in so many ways.”

Kamya also enjoys watching everyday reactions at the LFDL at her house in Arlington. “I can look out and see when people are stopping by the library. It is always amazing to see the kids and families.” She also loves that her visitors take time to look through the books and discuss them. “They are able to teach lessons, and educate themselves right there in that moment.” Kamya told me.

Where were Little Free Diverse Libraries headed?

Now that LFDL (Diverstories) is a nonprofit organization, Kamya has plans to expand her original vision.

As a school counselor at a Title I school in New York City, Kamya understands “how important it is for students to not only see themselves in literature, but have access to quality diverse books.” So, one of the most important ways she plans to grow Diverstories is to implement Little Free Diverse Libraries inside and outside schools across the U.S. She’s planning to start in NYC, an area that, unlike many suburbs, has fewer than ten Little Free Libraries. “With more libraries,” she told me, “there is more access to literature, and one can form a greater love for reading.”

Kamya also plans to work with “community centers, organizations, hospitals, and companies, to broaden their collection of diverse literature.” Some of the ways she’d like to bring this vision to life are by distributing diverse reading material to waiting rooms and staff lounges as well as by providing suggestions for staff required reading.

As Diverstories continues to grow, Kamya would like to “curate book lists that people turn to throughout the year. I hope these book lists can inspire, educate, and celebrate diverse voices.” After all, Kamya told me, “There is always a place for diverse books.”

How you can get involved in little free diverse libraries: If you’re feeling inspired to help Kamya bring diverse stories to your community through Little Free Libraries, there are several ways you can get involved:

Support: Donate money online. Your monetary gift will help Little Free Diverse Libraries collaborate with Black-owned bookstores, install LFDL at schools, send books to distributors, and more.

Donate books through their Amazon Wishlist. Purchase from a collection of books curated by Kamya and they’ll be shipped directly to her, so she can distribute them to LFLs in Massachusetts and New York.

Give 10% of your Bookshop purchase. 

Diverstories has its own store set up on Bookshop.com, the online store that supports indie book sellers. All you have to do is shop the site the next time you’re picking up books for yourself, friends, family, or even your own favorite LFL, and 10% of your purchase will automatically go to Diverstories.

Become a distributor or Little Free Diverse Library owner:

If you’d like to stock LFL structures in your community or you want to build your own LFDL, you can fill out this Google form and LDFL will get in touch with you.

Create a Little Free Diverse Library in your community. 

Construct and maintain your own box with LFDL’s guidance.

Like every worthwhile project, becoming an LFDL distributor and/or owner takes passion, dedication, and flexibility to navigate the challenges you may face on your way to realizing the rewards of this important work.