A big new phenomenon is taking the West End by storm: Little Free Libraries!
Located throughout the West End, these brightly coloured boxes of books encourage neighbourhood kids and adults alike to get out into the community, borrow books from neighbours and leap into a good read! Each Little Free Library is unique in its own way with different coloured paint, designs, and books to offer! On Banning Street for example, the Little Free Library is adorably painted with arrows pointing to places in classic children’s novels; whereas on Toronto Street, the library is beautifully painted with prairie flowers and vines.
Found outside of a house or apartment block, the libraries look similar to a birdhouse. Depending on who owns the library, it may be run slightly differently and contain different books. Some libraries request that if you take a book, you leave a book, while others ask that you return the book when finished. Nonetheless, the mission of each Little Free Library is similar, as Little Free Library owner and West End resident Amber Hewitt puts it, “We want a way to better share books among neighbourhood kids and a way to pass on books we (and neighbours) have accumulated that we are no longer reading”.
So, if you feel the need to relax, want to teach your kids to read or just want a break from the constant buzz of social media and television, the Little Free Library is a free and easy way to do it. If you want to find a new book for yourself, we’ve gathered a list of the Little Free Libraries in the West End.
Little Free Libraries in the West End
312 Arlington St
378 Banning St
555 Burnell St
903 Dominion St
786 Goulding St
586 Lipton St
960 Lipton St
486 Simcoe St
688 Spruce St
321 Toronto St
1135 Valour Rd
