by Rob Ward
I will always remember the first time I encountered a little library in front of a small cottage down in Sunnyside years ago. There was just something quite magical about its miniature construction and what it had to offer passers-by just like me. Inviting and intimate, it stopped me in my tracks. After marvelling at the idea, I ventured forth and opened the door. I took a book that appealed to me and tucked it into my coat and continued my aimless ramble.
What was it that was so very special? Was it the generosity of the homeowner who took the time and trouble to build this little library? Was it an encounter with simple kindness that offered such a treasure to complete strangers? I’m not sure. But the idea has certainly caught on and the movement continues to expand. There is a few dozen in Crescent Heights that I know of and likely many more on streets that I don’t frequent.
I was inspired to take up the cause myself a couple of years ago. There is a flowering crab apple tree on our boulevard that beckoned. The branches splayed out at just the right height but was there enough room to slip in a library there? After some thinking and a few sketches, I made a crude cardboard model to place in the crook of those two branches. In order to fit it would have to be small and the form of the tree dictated an unusual shape. I didn’t want the tree to be harmed in any way, so the design had to be such that no mechanical fasteners were used, and nothing penetrated the trees protective bark.
I also wanted the final piece to blend in with the tree and be anything but obvious. Something that a keen eye might discover the second time passed.
The final solution is, in fact, an angular form composed of two nesting clamshells. Each of these has in inner watertight chamber with three little shelves. Each clamshell was pushed in from either side of the crook in the branches. Once nested snuggly they we fastened with screws to each other, not to the tree. The door includes a Perspex window and another at the back to let light in. The tin roof was the final element to keep the rain and snow off.
The day after I installed it a neighbour came to the door and gushed about how much he likes it and what it did for our street. It put a smile on my face and that feeling is repeated each time I see someone do a double take and go and have a look or take a picture, or even a book. Some of our neighbours take glee in restocking the shelves and I have even slipped out myself to see what’s on offer today!
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