The winners of the 2025 Greater Victoria Little Free Library Awards were officially announced at the annual general meeting of the Greater Victoria Placemaking Network (GVPN) this evening. The GVPN launched the Greater Victoria LFL Awards at its September 20th 1,000th LFL celebration as a way of celebrating our region’s growing network of LFLs.
Members of the community were invited to nominate and vote for their favourite LFLs across a range of categories. Overall, 59 LFLs were nominated across ten categories, and 200 people cast votes.
“The LFLs that were nominated showcased the diversity of little free libraries in our community. Take the ‘Best Upcycled/Reused LFL category, for example. In this category we had LFLs made from china hutches, cupboards, a steamer trunk, a barracks box, and a kayak!” said Phelps Bondaroff. “There was lots of competition in the ‘Most Creative LFL’ category, where nominated LFLs were shaped like pirate ships, balanced on spindly bird legs, wildly shaped like something from a Dr. Seuss book, covered in colourful modern art, and decorated with delicately painted stained glass. The creativity of our community is inspiring!”
The GVPN is pleased to announce the following winners:
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Best Plant/Seed LFL: The Yates Street Community Garden LFL – found at Yates St. and Vancouver St. in Victoria, and sharing books and seeds with the community.
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Best Boardgame/Puzzle LFL: Esquimalt Puzzle and Game LFL – found at Bewdley Ave. near Kinver St. in Esquimalt, and just next to a LFL dedicated to sharing children’s books, it is always well-stocked with puzzles and board games.
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Most Verdant Greenroof: Eagle View LFL – found at Eagle View Elementary School, in View Royal, and hosting a spectacular succulent garden on its roof.
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Best Literary Themed LFL: Wonderland LFL – found at Pembroke St. and Oregon Ave. in Fernwood, Victoria, and festooned with Alice and Wonderland decorations, including mushrooms, caterpillar, playing cards, and of course, the Cheshire Cat.
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Cutest LFL: Snoopy LFL – found on the 1200-block of Richardson St. in Victoria. One of at least four Peanuts-themed LFLs in the region, with day dreaming Snoopy on its roof.
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Most Creative LFL: The Art of Reading LFL – found at the 3300-block of Wordsworth St. in Saanich, and featuring 96 meticulously hand-painted stained glass book spines, full stained glass walls, a rotating book shelf, and brass fixtures.
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Best LFL with a Bird On It: Baba Yaga Books – found at Llewelyn Place, in North Saanich, this LFL stands on two spindly bird legs, and is an ornithological delight.
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Best Organized LFL: That Little Blue Library – found at the 4500-block of West Saanich Rd. in Saanich. It has well-organized shelves and a well-organized social media presence on Instagram.
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Best LFL That Looks Like Another Thing: Beckley Cottage Book Box – found on the 400-block of Parry St. in Victoria. This LFL is an identical miniature version of the historic Beckley Cottage, built in 1901 and moved to its current location in 1980.
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Best Upcycled/Reused LFL: BlueKayak Books – found in front of BestCoast Outfitters on the 800-block of Yates St. Victoria. As the name suggests, this LFL was built from an upcycled kayak.
“We launched the 2025 Greater Victoria Little Free Library Awards to celebrate all the creativity, care, whimsy, and love that goes into creating and maintaining the little free libraries in our region,” said Teale Phelps Bondaroff, volunteer Lead of the Pocket Places Project and Saanich Councillor. “We hope that this year’s awards inspire people to get involved in placemaking in their communities. Whether it’s building or helping stock a local LFL, a community gardening or mural project, setting up a bench or bulletin board, we want everyone to take an active role in shaping their communities.”
“Little Free Libraries have become a cornerstone of Greater Victoria’s culture,” said Bella Lee, GVPN Board Member. “We are proud to spotlight some incredible little free libraries and the amazing people behind them.”
“Neighbourhood libraries have become a wonderful meeting place for our community,” said Jessica Hum, outgoing GVPN Board Member.
This is the first year the GVPN has organized these awards, and the organization is hoping to make this an annual tradition.
Video reel from GVPN Director, Ciara Chamberlaine
Our region loves little free libraries (LFLs) and it is amazing that there are now more than 1,000 little free libraries in the Greater Victoria area!
These adorable little boxes come in all shapes and sizes, and they don’t just share books. Our region has little libraries sharing plants, seeds, puzzles, board games, household items, toys, art, art supplies, pet toys and accessories, yarn, food, and more! And when it comes to little libraries for books, we have LFLs that specialize in poetry, children’s books, French books, zines, and magazines.
