On Sunday, July 30th, neighbours gathered on Wilson St. in Vic West, to cut the ribbon on the 700th little free library (LFL) in the CRD. It was built and installed by Kolby Gasko and can be found at 448 Wilson St. and has been named the “Kiddo Library.”
Cutting the ribbon on the 700th LFL in the CRD!
“I built this little library with my son Wolf who loves reading all kinds of books with us. He also really likes helping me build any sort of projects that I’m working on,” said Gasko. “Our collection of kids books was starting to make our bookshelf sag, so we thought we could share with the neighbourhood, and hopefully get a few new ones once in a while! We built it out of scrap material from a few job sites, we even found the glass panels on the side of the road.”
“Our family loves the little free libraries all over town. It’s always exciting to stumble across a new one on a street we haven’t walked before,” said Gasko. “We don’t see many children’s books in the libraries, so we thought it would be awesome to give the kids in our community the same excitement when they come across ours! Vic West is definitely a great area for families and we are glad to hopefully add something to it.”
Cutting the ribbon on the 700th LFL in the CRD.
Little free libraries are public book boxes that operate on the principle of ‘leave a book – take a book.’ They can be found throughout the CRD in all shapes and sizes. While most share books, some have specialise in a certain type of book (poetry, children’s books, French books), and there are also a growing number of LFLs sharing plants, seeds, toys, household items, board games, puzzles, art supplies, art, food, and more.
The Greater Victoria Placemaking Network (GVPN) runs the Pocket Places Project, which maps, promotes, stocks, and helps build LFLs across the CRD. This project celebrates milestones and helps supply LFLs with books. To date, the project has helped set up over 120 LFLs, and delivered over 85,000 books to LFLs across the CRD, most of them delivered by bike.
Neighbours gathering at the ribbon cutting for the 700th LFL in the CRD.
“I am constantly impressed by our growing little free library community,” says Teale Phelps Bondaroff, who has volunteered as the lead of the Pocket Places Project for the past seven years. “I have long described little free libraries as coral reefs for community. It’s amazing how something as simple as a little book box can serve to connect people, create an identity of place, and ultimately help build community.”
“As the liaison to Vic West from Victoria City Council, I’m really pleased that the region’s 700th little free library is opening in Vic West,” said Victoria Councillor Jeremy Caradonna. “Little free libraries are a phenomenal way to encourage reading, bring creative design to the street, and create ways for neighbours to interact with each other. My gratitude to Councillor Phelps Bondaroff and all those who’ve been involved in advancing this successful program.”
“I’m proud to call myself a Little Free Librarian. Soon after moving to Victoria and joining the Greater Victoria Placemaking Network, I learned about this wide-reaching community of Little Free Library builders. Teale Phelps Bondaroff connected me with a talented builder who breathes new life into upcycled old furniture,” said Jessica Hum, GVPN director and local LFL librarian speaking about her. “What once was a medicine cabinet is now my beautiful, hand painted beach cabana library called the “Dive Inn”. This Little Free Library is well-loved by all ages in the neighbourhood. That’s the power of the Pocket Places Project and the network!”
The full map of all 700+ LFLs in Victoria can be found here:
https://victoriaplacemaking.ca/little-free-libraries/
You can catch up on a few news stories about the ribbon cutting in the Victoria News, Victoria Buzz, Victoria Now, CHEK News, and Capital Daily.
