With more than 150,000 Little Free Libraries in 120 countries, the Little Free Library program enables the exchange of millions of books each year and increases access to literature for readers of all ages and backgrounds.
The Marblehead Little Free Library was founded in 2009 by Todd Bol, who made a sharing box in honor of his late mother. Fifteen years later, the town has just fewer than 20 registered Little Free Libraries.
Volunteer steward Christine van Gemert, whose Little Free Library has been at 67 Pond St. for almost nine years, said she was inspired by a photograph of a burro with a mobile library and a Real Simple article on the topic.
She said she looked into it and found out she could buy the library, either already constructed or with instructions on how to make it, on the Little Free Library website.
“I like to give books away. Mine gets pretty well attended because of where I am,” van Gemert, who lives on a well-traveled street, said. “It’s been enjoyable”
Curating her own library, as well as straightening up other Little Free Libraries nearby, is something van Gemert has done over the years. She said she is like the Little Free Library angel.
“You have to monitor them so you can make sure there’s good books,” she said.
Van Gemert has had a lifetime love for books.
“I love to read, I was reading a book out of the birth canal,” she said.
She even said that she found a book in a Little Free Library that became one of her favorites of all time, “Norwegian by Night” by Derek B. Miller.
“I’ve given it to everyone I know,” she said.
Once, a visitor to her library asked, “How long can I keep the book?” She responded, “You can have it, it’s yours. It’s free — a Little Free Library.”
Volunteering at Abbot Public Library with the Friends of the Abbot Public Library bookstore and working as the librarian at the Unitarian Universalist Church are other ways van Gemert supports her love of reading.
The registered Little Free Library locations in Marblehead are:
67 Pond St.
44 Peach Highlands
46 Gallison Ave.
251 Atlantic Ave.
91 Pleasant St.
38 Blueberry Road
35 Lincoln Ave.
19 Taft St.
4 Cross St.
19 Doaks Lane
10 Humphrey St.
10 Cherry St.
34 Sevinor Road
12 Washington Square
13 Darling St.
Barnard Hawkes Court
Broughton Road
Lyme Street at Reynolds Playground
The Beach Bluff parking lot at 100 Seaview Ave.