Laundry Owner Adds ‘Little Free Library’ Stand to His Business’ Offerings

Although Brockton, Mass., has long operated three branches of its main public library, the city now boasts six branches of its “Little Free Library” program as well.The Frederick Douglass Neighborhood Association recently unveiled Brockton’s newest Little Free Library stand at the Cary Hill Superwash laundromat. The newest free library box was purchased and installed by laundry owner Kevin Beggs as a gift to the city.Mayor Bill Carpenter, who attended the unveiling, said he couldn’t think of a better location.” Everyone’s been stuck at the laundromat with nothing to read at one time or another, right?” Carpenter said. “I love this community outreach effort. It’s about neighborhood. It’s about community. It’s about quality of life here in the city. It’s about spreading literacy. We appreciate very much on behalf of the city your involvement and your willingness to bring a Little Free Library here.” “We were very happy to help out and make sure it got put in place,” Beggs said.The Little Free Library at the Cary Hill Superwash was the sixth one installed in the city since 2015, when the nonprofit Frederick Douglass Neighborhood Association began supporting the program. Since then, the Little Free Library system in Brockton has provided 3,000 to 4,000 books to those in the community, through a system with the philosophy of “take a book, leave a book,” said Lynn Smith, president of the neighborhood association.” We have a wonderful, wonderful public library and public library system in Brockton,” Smith added. “But, if you’re working three jobs and you’re at the laundromat until midnight, sometimes it’s just fun to peek inside and see if there’s a book to take home. And, if you’ve read a book, you can bring it back after you finish reading it, and put it into the Little Free Library.” The Little Free Library concept originated in Wisconsin in 2009, created by Todd Bol, who built a miniature wooden model of a one-room schoolhouse as a tribute to his mother, a former teacher who loved to read, according to the nonprofit promoting the concept. Since then, Little Free Libraries have spread to 60,000 locations in 50 states and 80 countries.Smith thanked Beggs for supporting the Little Free Library system in Brockton.” This is a wonderful, wonderful example of a partnership with a community and a wonderful, wonderful corporate citizen,” Smith said.