Norman Wells Historical Society unveiled three Little Free Libraries in the town last month after receiving territorial funding to support the project.
Museum manager Kelsey Henderson said she found the public library, in the absence of a librarian, was “always closed” when she first moved to the town. Although the community now has open library hours, Henderson felt like it would only benefit from having more opportunities for people to drop-off books they have read.
“We have Little Free Libraries everywhere in Calgary and I use them all the time,” she told Cabin Radio. “So, I thought it would be such a good opportunity for us to put them in up here – especially because when people are moving, they don’t always want to take all the books they’ve acquired over however long.”
Henderson said the museum commissioned local carpenter Stewart Hamlyn to build all three libraries.
Of the three little libraries, one is set up close to the museum while another is located at the NorthWright Airways Float Base. The third library has yet to be installed, however it will be placed at the new recreational area the town is working on.
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“I don’t know that a lot of people who are up this far North, have ever heard of or seen the Little Free Libraries. So, we just sort of put them out and they’ve had great reception so far. We’re really happy with that,” Henderson said.
The NWT’s Department of Education, Culture and Employment granted funding for the project through its Community Literacy Development Fund.
Henderson said the libraries aren’t officially registered under the Little Free Libraries trademark to avoid the hefty costs of shipping plaques from the United States.
“To get that done up this far North is actually quite expensive. So, we just opted out of that because you don’t need to be an official affiliate. You can just sort of create the program yourself,” she said. “We’re hoping that by having people in the community know about them, that more northern communities will follow suit and put some out. I think they’re such a good idea.”
In only a few weeks, Henderson said locals have already began utilizing the libraries.
“It’s take a book, leave a book system. We’re trying to keep them stocked a little bit for the summer. But we do notice that the books are changing out, so people are leaving and taking, which is fantastic.”
