They say it takes a village to raise a child. Sometimes it takes two to realize a dream.
In the case of a dream to have a Little Free Library in Linkwood Park, it took two villages. Inspired by an October 2013 article in "The Baltimore Sun," my writer friend Laura Wexler and I decided we wanted one in Linkwood Park by the Stony Run trail. In addition to residents of Roland Park, Evergreen and Guilford, Linkwood Park and its playground are used by residents of many city neighborhoods.
Little Free Libraries, littlefreelibrary.org, are small waterproof libraries about the size of a mailbox, or a large birdhouse, on a post. The books inside are free. "Take a book, leave a book " is the idea. Little Free Libraries are found all over the world as part of a nonprofit initiative that began in Wisconsin in 2009. One simple act of building one little library, as a tribute to a mother, spawned more than 25,000 little libraries as of January 2015.
Anyone can put one up. Structures can be ordered from Little Free Library or built independently then registered with the nonprofit, which keeps track of their locations. I have seen them at Belvedere Square, on Calvert Street, on University Parkway, and at the Village Learning Place on St. Paul Street.
In late 2013 Laura Wexler and I approached the Roland Park Civic League about installing one in Linkwood Park. The Roland Park Community Foundation quickly offered to fund it.
Wexler, who lived in Charles Village before moving with her husband and two children to Roland Park, knew that the Village Learning Place on St. Paul Street had built and installed a couple of libraries. In early 2014 we met with their director, Liesje Gantert, to see how best to proceed. We walked out with her generous offer of two little libraries and the name of a volunteer who had securely installed others in Charles Village.
Next came the hard part: securing the permission of Baltimore City to put one in Linkwood Park. Everyone was thrilled with the idea, but it took more than a year to iron out the wrinkles.
Several weeks ago Miss Utility from BGE came and checked out the area for any possible underground wires. None was found.
On a bone dry, warm Preakness Day, Rich Walther from Charles Village brought his tools, a post, a platform, some wood braces, a bag of cement and a beautifully painted wood library box donated by the Village Learning Place.
The structure was created by Baltimore City educator and artist Megan Wiessner and painted in a blue and green motif that shows both people and plants. As an artist Wiessner focuses on cultural responses to and interactions with the natural world. Perfect for Linkwood Park.
For its installation Laura Wexler, her husband, Mike Subelsky, and their two children brought a pick ax, a pole digger, a shovel and some children's books. My contribution was four gallons of water saved from our basement dehumidifier.
After lots of elbow grease and muscle, Walther and Subelsky successfully dug a hole 18 inches deep. With the help of the Subelsky children and their neighbor, the men used a level to be sure the post and platform were straight. They then poured water into the cement mix into the hole.
While waiting for the cement to set, the children had some fun with the extra water. They took turns pouring it over their heads. The youngest found a worm and relocated it from the area near the cement to one below a tree. Walther screwed braces into the post to hold the library firmly in place for a few days until the cement fully hardened.
The moment at last arrived for the little library to go onto the platform. Walther carefully positioned it and double-checked with his level before screwing it in place. By then the children were too wet and muddy to open the library door and donate their books, so Wexler positioned an assortment on the shelves.
The kids ran down the bank to enjoy the stream while the adults stood around hoping for some library visitors soon and hatching a plan for the second donated by the Village Learning Place. We wondered where area residents might want it installed. By the schools? Farther up Stony Run? Where?
We also thought we might try to put up a few little libraries in city neighborhoods far away from Roland Park. Besides encouraging reading, Little Free Libraries help build and strengthen a sense of community. Exactly what Baltimore needs this summer.