Libraries on the Loose! Top 12 Little Free Libraries in SE Seattle

Have you noticed the over-sized bird houses popping up all over the community?

If you look a little closer you’ll see that they’re actually filled with books. Because they’re not birdhouses, they’re Little Free Libraries.

Little Free Libraries are small-scale book shelters that function as “take-a-book, leave-a-book” gathering places where neighbors can share their favorite literature and stories.

According to littlefreelibrary.org, the movement began in 2009 when a Wisconsin man built a model of a one-room schoolhouse as a tribute to his mother, a former school teacher who loved reading. He filled it with books and put it on a post in his front yard. His friends and neighbors loved it so much that he built several more and gave them away. Each one had a sign that said FREE BOOKS.

It’s no surprise that the idea took off in Seattle — once voted the nation’s most literate city. And the south-end is no exception.

Last year, the Rainier Valley Rotary Club started a project designed to expand Little Free Libraries throughout Hillman City and Columbia City, and there are quite a few scattered throughout the area. Below are a few of our favorites.

Top 10 Little Free Libraries in Southeast Seattle:

1. 3422 16th Ave. S. near S. Hinds St., Beacon Hill
2. 3307 Lafayette Ave. S. near S. Horton St., Beacon Hill
3. 2107 29th Ave. S. near S. Walker St., Mt. Baker
4. 5107 46th Ave. S. near S. Dawson St., Columbia City
5. 3948 S. Hudson St. near 42nd Ave. S., Columbia City
6. 5155 S. Othello St. near Rainier Ave. S., Othello
7. 7032 Holly Park Dr. S. near S. Myrtle Pl., NewHolly
8. 4859 S. Findlay St. near 51st Ave. S., Lakewood/Seward Park
9. 5249 S. Graham St. near Wilson Ave. S., Lakewood/Seward Park
10. SE corner of 46th Ave. S. & S. Lucille St., Lakewood/Seward Park
11. 10053 63rd Ave. S. near S. Ryan St., Rainier Beach
12. 10200 62nd Ave. S. near S. Ryan, Rainier Beach

Where is your favorite Little Free Library? This one is located at 4859 S. Findlay St. in the Lakewood/Seward Park neighborhood. Article and photo originally published at the Rainier Valley Post