Little Free Libraries

All of us are hoping for the best where the future of the Wallowa County Library is concerned. Libraries are an important part of the fabric of our community.

Did you know our county has two “little free” libaries? While these would never be a substitute for the county library and all its many services, they are unique symbols of the importance of reading and literacy.

Mike and Linda Koloski erected their library last fall in the 100 block of Hyland Drive in Enterprise. It’s a two-room model with a main hall and a smaller one dedicated to children’s books.

Koloski, who is retired from the U.S. Coast Guard, found his second love in education and his third in art. Providing reading material was a natural outgrowth.

If you look left as you proceed north out of Lostine, between the post office and the store, you’ll see Janice Bird’s version of the little free library.

She spotted the idea in a magazine shortly after she retired from teaching and decided it was perfect for Lostine.

It was built to look as much like the store as possible. Janice and her husband Keith owned and operated the store when the library went up. Children’s books have also been a priority for the Birds.

The idea behind the Little Free Library movement is simple: patrons take a book and leave a book, or take a book, read it and bring it back and leave another one. It’s about as grassroots an idea as you can find.

Books in a variety of genres are featured, including the famous Sue Grafton “alphabet” series and works by famous and not-so-famous authors.

Both librarians say usage hasn’t been as brisk as they had hoped.

Koloski said it’s mostly his neighbors who stop by and pick out a book.

Bird said someone dutifully shoveled a path through the snow to the Lostine version this winter, but few books were exchanged. Now that the weather is improving so is the library business, she added.

Koloski said he was pleased to discover that despite the awful winter, his library resisted the wind and snow with great aplomb.

Warm summer days are on the horizon. If you’re on of those who enjoys sitting in the sun and reading, check out one of the little free libraries.

Having grown up in a rural part of the world, libraries were a big part of my upbringing. I became a voracious reader early in life.

When I was a child, you could send a post card with a book title to the North Dakota State Library and your address and within a few days, your book would arrive. It was as if I had discovered manna.

Today my reading is mostly confined to work-related, although I occasionally snag a book whose topic catches my eye.

Newspaper editors have a vested interest in folks learning how to read. Without readers, there would be no newspapers.

Find your library or one of the little free libraries and enjoy a book this week.

Wahl is the editor of The Chieftain who has been working on writing a novel for 20 years.