Little local library

Katherine Saunders loves libraries.
Now she has one in her front yard.
“I could live at the library,” said Saunders, who resides in Redkey with her husband Paul.
The couple had lived in Salamonia until a house fire forced them into temporary quarters near Portland. About a year ago, they moved to Redkey. And it wasn’t long before they missed their contact with Jay County Public Library.
“The bookmobile will bring whatever you ask for,” said Katherine. But it’s not quite the same as browsing through the books.

And the expense of driving back and forth from Redkey to Portland added up quickly.
Then Katherine learned about Little Free Libraries.
“I had seen it on the Internet and just thought it was the neatest thing,” she said.
The Little Free Library concept is beautiful in its simplicity: A weatherproof box is set out with easy access to maybe a couple of dozen books that can be borrowed by anyone who passes by. It works on the “take a book, leave a book” philosophy, assuming that those who like to read are also interested in sharing books with others.
Katherine took the idea to Paul, and he bought in immediately.
“I said, ‘We could probably do that,’” he recalled.
They did some research at the website littlefreelibrary.org and learned that while some book boxes are made by hand and some are store-bought, others are made from recycled materials.
It was that last possibility that caught their fancy. The couple approached The Commercial Review about acquiring a couple of old, decommissioned newspaper vending machines. Those were donated on the spot.
Then it was time to rehabilitate the old metal boxes and give them a new life.
“Actually, it wasn’t too bad,” said Paul. The newspaper boxes were watertight and just needed some sanding, some painting, and the installation of a tray to hold the books.
Meanwhile, Katherine made contact with others in Indiana who had gone the Little Free Library route.
A woman in Monroe told her that her community had been so generous donating books that she had a surplus. Soon a “starter set” of three or four boxes of books — ranging from kids’ books to young adult to mysteries to romances to non-fiction — had arrived at the Saunders house on Spencer Street in Redkey.
“It’s a little bit of everything,” said Katherine.
Over the holidays, the Redkey Library took shape and was ready to make an appearance at 21 N. Spencer St.
“We’re really not quite done yet,” said Paul. The couple would like to add some concrete paving stones around the recycled newspaper box to make it easier to access.
The second old CR machine is still in the Saunders’ garage awaiting a second coat of paint. When the rehabilitation work has been completed, that branch of the Redkey Library will be located at Meridian and High streets in downtown Redkey.
“Our long-term goal is for others to put their own out,” said Paul. “I’d like to see others run with this.”
“We love reading and hope others love reading enough to get their own boxes started,” the couple said in an email after the first box went up. “The more boxes that are put up the more variety we will have.”
As of Tuesday, the Redkey Library was officially registered with the national Little Free Library organization and will soon show up on the organization’s website.