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The following is a guest post submitted by Chris Clemens.
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In an effort to promote literacy and the love of reading, two businessmen out of the Mid-West have been operating a grassroots, ground up neighborhood rallying effort to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to read. Since 2009 the group has been making available little wooden stands that at first glance look like large birdhouses, but are actually little, free libraries…

358 Hartsville Lane

Anyone who wants to can apply to the group to receive a library to place in their yard, and in doing so provides neighbors and passersby the opportunity to borrow a book, or leave one for others to borrow. In what started as a way to give back to the community, and to honor their librarian mothers, Todd Bol and Rich Brooks have made available thousands of these little libraries available across the globe.

154 Chestnut Hill Road

On the Little Free Library website there is an interactive map identifying the location of all the existing libraries, and while looking to see if there were locations near me, I was surprised to find that there are several in Western NY and a good handful of them are within a 15 minute drive of one another right in Rochester, NY!

990 Whitlock Road

The free little library shown above was built by Creative Casey who wrote a blog post about it here .

Arbor Drive (Between Azalea and Laney)

So, of course, I went to visit each one. If you’d like to to do the same, and maybe donate some old books, or even borrow a new one to read, use the interactive map below to find Rochester’s Little Free Libraries – you might be surprised how close one is to you!

30 Newcrest Drive

Oh, and while visiting, please be mindful that these libraries are on private property, and are the homeowner’s way of giving back to their community and neighborhood, and that their efforts are noble. Be respectful and thoughtful while getting your book!

Interactive Map

Related Links:

5 Very Cool Little Free Libraries Elsewhere in the World

Flickr Stream of Some Other Little Free Libraries

Little Free Libraries on Pinterest

About Chris Clemens:

Chris Clemens is a Rochester native with a degree from SUNY Brockport in Health Science. While spending nearly all his free time in research and exploration of curious landmarks, he is half of the blogging duo responsible for the Exploring The Burned Over District blog. Checkout the blog on Facebook !

Tags: Arbor Drive, books, Chestnut Hill Road, Chris Clemens, free stuff, Freebies, Hartsville Lane, library, little free libraries, little free library, Newcrest Drive, Rochester, Rochester NY, The Curious and Uncommon, Whitlock Road

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 14th, 2013 at 2:10 pm and is filed under Art + Culture, Reader Submitted Stories, Rochester Destinations, Rochester News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.