11 Sep 2014

Under Your Nose: Little Libraries of Capitol Hill

IMG_7173Some of the things that make Capitol Hill a neighborhood so near and dear to our hearts are the places and things we don’t think twice about. Very often they deserve a second look or visit. I’m going to try to capture some of these local charmers as I come across them, or even as you suggest them.

One such thing is the little libraries of Capitol Hill. Recently, it seems that these library boxes have popped up more and more this summer. There are five between the Library of Congress and Safeway, located at 14th and E Street, SE, and that’s only a small portion of the Hill.

I noticed my first little library about five years ago was in near H Street, NE. Usually these are charming little cabinets chock full of free books from folks who clearly need a bit of space on their personal library shelves, or maybe they just want to help spread the love of reading. It’s always fun to see what kind of books get dropped off inside.

These neighbors turned librarians surely have a weak spot for reading. They’ve joined the “take a book, return a book” movement formalized by LittleFreeLibrary.org. Thanks in part to their generosity D.C. may one day be on the list of most well read cities in America. Alexandria is number 1? Whatever.

I tend to drop off kids books that haven’t passed the test, cookbooks and after finally giving up on the Architectural Digest look for my living room, scads of heavy art books. What I find always surprises me, everything from classics, political fare, textbooks to self-help tomes and historical analysis. Last week I picked up two nearly new National Book Award winners, a travel memoir and Barbara Kingsolver’s first novel. Let us know what you’ve found or drop off at your local branch. And, tell us in the comments where your favorite little library is located.

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2 responses to “Under Your Nose: Little Libraries of Capitol Hill”

  1. disqus_rW5BAIZEFe says:

    Stop by ours at 1333 Ives Pl SE, near Harris Teeter. We haven’t gotten around to registering on the Little Free Library web site.

  2. skrishna says:

    I run a Little Free Library at the SE corner of Lincoln Park. You can follow updates at http://www.instagram.com/skrishna

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