Editor's Pick: It Started Here

In 2009, one book-sharing box in Wisconsin sparked a phenomenon. Today, there are 175,000 registered (plus countless unregistered) Little Free Libraries in 50 U.S. states and 121 countries around the world. The late Todd Bol created the very first box in Hudson, Wisconsin, then partnered with Madisonian Rick Brooks in 2010, and Madison became the first place the concept really took off. Neighbors place books in the miniature houses for any and all to enjoy. In 2023, Little Free Library, now a nonprofit, partnered with the National Education Association to build 500 Little Free Libraries for teachers. That feels fitting, since Bol initially came up with the idea to honor his late mother, a former schoolteacher. littlefreelibrary.org

Andrea Behling is editor at Madison Magazine.

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