Eagle Mountains Micro Neighborhood Libraries

You may see them popping up around Eagle Mountain. Introducing the Micro Neighborhood Libraries. These are small libraries that usually have a “take one, leave one” approach to book lending. If you drive around Eagle Mountain long enough, you will eventually see one of these micro libraries. Micro libraries are a small subsection of larger libraries. They are usually tucked into a small area and are set up to allow a greater distribution of books than a fully stocked library would have. The micro library is usually focused on simplicity, minimalism, and in some cases involves a theme. Most of us have a micro library in our house somewhere. It usually is a subset of our regular book collection. Some of them sit next to bed stands, others are in bookcases tucked in a children’s room. But then there are the micro neighborhood libraries. These are the micro libraries that stewards share with the neighborhood and community. They bring their micro library to the outdoors and open it up for anyone to borrow or add books to. I have talked to several of the Micro Library stewards. Marshall Andrews, the steward of the Tinamous Road Library, has lived in Eagle mountain since 2012. He is currently a firefighter in Salt Lake City. It was his sister that got him interested in being a micro neighborhood library steward. “My sister thought they were the coolest. She used to send me photos of neat little free library boxes she saw online. And I’m the type of person that rarely re-reads books. I’d prefer to give it to someone who hasn’t read it yet, because the more people who learn to like good books the better. Also I had way too many books in my garage. So I decided to put up a Little Free Library of my own in my front yard.” Marshall talks about his experience of making a micro library. “It’s super easy. I almost bought one from Amazon for $150. Then all you would have to do is put books in it. Instead, I spent about three months and $200 in supplies to build my own. Building it was the hard part, as I’m not a carpentry type of guy normally.” Marshall continues, “Hmm. Blueprints are tough. Dimensions can get confused easily when you forget to factor in the width of the wood, the width of the space inside compared to the width of the space outside, etc. The door and door lock are the trickiest parts. I had to make my door twice after screwing it up the first time, and then I had to add a different locking system when the first one didn’t work like it should. Stay flexible and try to keep calm. Also, add a pitched roof to get rid of most of the elements, to avoid water and snow damage.” Here are some pictures of the Tinamous Road Library. The Goodrich family, another group of stewards for a micro library. They are the stewards for the Hitching Post Library. The Goodrich family has lived in Eagle Mountains City Center for 7 years. Mr. Goodrich teaches math at Cedar Valley High School. Mrs. Goodrich is a full-time student at UVU majoring in Art education. Mrs. Goodrich talks about her passion for books. “I have always been a passionate book lover and collector. I feel reading is a great way to escape this world for but a small moment and find a new way of seeing things. Being an artist, reading is also a great way to explore and feed our imagination. One of my favorite Quotes is ‘Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.'” Mrs. Goodrich continues, “When we were looking at buying this house the people before us had already put one in, but unfortunately took it with them. Already Being an avid book lover, I have always wanted to start one but never found the time to set one up. So after 3 years of being in our home, I went to declutter our book collection, and felt so sad to just send them to DI so I said that is it, we are finally going to start our own little library. So We did.” Not all little libraries need to be made of wood and be placed near the street. The Hitching Post library is on the Goodrich’s porch. “At first I was overwhelmed with the price of buying a micro library kit. My husband is amazing at building things, so I asked him how much it would cost to buy all the supplies for him to make one. Unfortunately, I was still not happy with the price. I was also worried about how quickly weather wear would affect the wood and start to deteriorate being outside 24/7. So we went to Lowes and started troubleshooting. Turned out for only $60 dollars you can buy a plastic shelving organizer and that was more in our budget. My talented husband then cut out cute little windows and added supports to help with the weight of the books. I then vinyled the outside with the saying ‘choose your next adventure here.’ So my suggestion would be to think outside the box when it comes to finding a structure to house your books.” Both Marshall and the Goodrich family have seen their libraries being used by friends and neighbors. Mrs. Goodrich explains, “I was worried it would not be, but so far I have seen a lot of books come and go. Plus I have had lots of parents around the neighborhood thank me and tell me how much there kids are enjoying it.” She continues, “I was worried about getting enough books to start the library off, but asked my family and friends for help, and they all were excited to go through their books and donate. Before I knew it my library was overflowing with books for all ages.” When asking Marshall about the success of the Tinamous Road library, he responded, “I don’t know really. I wanted one, and now I have one. I guess the highlight so far is from the beginning of the quarantine. We took most of the books out and instead put in things like toilet paper, diapers, food, and masks. And people continued to put in just as much as they took, except for an even more important cause. Neighbors can be pretty cool once you get to know each other.” The Eagle Mountain Arts Alliance is also working on increasing the number of micro libraries in the city. “The Eagle Mountain Arts Alliance is excited for our upcoming project to get more Little Free Libraries out there in the city. We are currently working with the city on exact locations and details, but we’ll get the information out as it happens. If you want more information or are interested in helping with building the libraries, you can contact Jaclyn Weist at eaglemountainartscon@gmail.com or through our website at www.eaglemountainarts.com” Here are some pictures of the Red River Library. It does not matter what you do for a living, how much money you make, or what type of house you live in. Everyone can participate in making and supporting your micro neighborhood libraries. There are micro libraries scattered throughout Eagle Mountain. Here is the Eagle Mountain Little Libary Map. [google_map_easy id=”6″] If you are thinking about building a micro library, make sure you check out this website: https://littlefreelibrary.org/build/ They have lots of good building plans as well as some things to avoid when building your micro neighborhood library. And of course, make sure you contact us so we can add it to the micro library map. Please check with the city and your HOA before you put up a micro library. I contacted the city to see if there were any regulations or rules on micro libraries. Steve Mumford, Assistant City Administrator / Community Development Director asked the code enforcement team and this was his response. “I’ve asked my Neighborhood Improvement department for any regulations they might know of related to these little libraries, but I don’t believe we have any restrictions. I think they’re a great little benefit to neighborhoods. We would only be concerned if they blocked visibility (clear vision triangles), provided a hazard (too close to the sidewalk), or were installed deep enough to be a problem with utilities (on a utility easement). I don’t think we have allowed them in park strips, but they could be installed in front yards.” If you do plan on becoming a micro library steward, make sure its location is legal and meets HOA regulations. You can also become a member of the Little Free Library organization. It is free and they will list your library in their nationwide database. I know that the steward of the Red River Library did get permission from the neighborhoods HOA prior to installing it. Marshall, micro library steward, Eagle Mountain Resident, and Salt Lake City firefighter, talks about how micro libraries are a way to give back to the community you live in, but they are not the only way.

A library box, of course, isn’t the only thing you can add to help improve your home or your neighborhood. Consider bright outdoor and garage lights, and keeping them on to help keep your neighborhood safe at night. You could add a camera by your front door (we’ve been able to help neighbors identify who picked up their package, or ran over their mailbox). The first thing I did was put in a tree swing in my front yard; I still see random kids stop during walks with their parents to swing for a minute. I also made sure that my house number was large and visible from the road, in case of an emergency (same thing with my mailbox). This is very helpful to fire, police, and medical responders. I even feel like adding a flagpole with an American flag added something to my yard and my street. Or you could be like my mother, who installed a fairy garden in her front yard, filled with pixies, gnomes, and the like. Have fun, and share your creativity with others!