AUGUST 2019 I BOROMAG.COM 39
as well as the Little Free Library at Astoria
Heights Park.
According to Kennedy, in 2017, a
Friends of Astoria Heights Park member,
Larry Mayberry, built a homemade library
as a temporary installation, similar to an
art installation. Because of its success,
Kennedy requested from the Parks Department
that they install a LFL.
When asked about the Little Free Library
at Astoria Heights Playground, Astoria resident
Madeline Zenir said, “It’s an affordable
way for people to have easy access to books
they might not normally read or pick out. I
definitely plan on using it. I find it fun and
exciting knowing other people have donated
and swapped books and that the books
are always changing.”
LFL built Little Libraries in over 90 countries,
and there are 90,000-plus libraries
spread all over the world. Thanks to the
partnership between LFL and groups like
APA and Friends of Astoria Heights Park,
our community is included on the growing
list. Not only will Astorians almost always
have free access to a book, but we’ll
be able to give back to our community
just by putting a book behind a little door.
“Even when it was in our more challenging
location, being next to the basketball
courts and vulnerable to vandalism, it was
well loved, maintained and appreciated
by the community. It was always stocked.
Now that we have it literally nesting in
the park, it seems like it has always been
there,” Kennedy said. “I have met people I
never knew before dropping off books. It
is a simple yet important way of connecting
us all, despite any cultural differences.
It also seems like a basic need is being
met and reading is not passé or a thing
of the past. This act of sharing books
seems to ground us.”
Photos by Allison Kridle
Photos by Katrina Medoff
/BOROMAG.COM
