Petalumans are putting their own spin on ‘Little Free Libraries’

Little Free Libraries, those adorably diminutive literary hubs that have been springing up for several years, are such a good way for people to share and discover used reading material. It was only a matter of time until people started adapting the concept for items other than books.

In Petaluma and Penngrove, where one can easily find registered and unregistered libraries in nearly every neighborhood, creative residents have erected similar “libraries” to share everything from original artworks, crafts supplies and jigsaw puzzles to dog toys, packages of disposable diapers and even food, either fresh from a garden or canned and boxed.

Even when sticking to the idea of an actual book repository, a number of clever local folks are finding ways to put their own unique or personal spin on it. There are a few libraries designed specifically for kids, built low to the ground and stocked with picture books, like Kate Greenspan’s magical Free Library for Littles on Woodworth Way. In addition to being cute and kid-sized, there are low-to-the-ground tree stumps for small ones to sit on and read, an adjoining Toy Library, and even an Herbrary, from which visitors can harvest an array of growing herbs.

Some local libraries are designed to attractively match the same colors of the house and fence it stands in front of, which is exactly what Jules and James Pelican have done with their Little Free Library on West Street. The house is purple with blue and green trim, and the fence against which the library stands is also green and blue, those colors tastefully repeated on the library itself.

While most Little Free Libraries are, by definition, little, there are some that are not so little at all. In fact they are so spacious they have actual categories — fiction, nonfiction, mysteries, thrillers — just like a walk-in library.

That’s the case with Eartha McClelland’s Little Free Library at 286 Woodward Ave. in Penngrove. A highly organized endeavor, it stands tall enough that some people will have to reach above their heads to pull a book down from the top shelf.

According to Penngrove’s Lyndi Brown, who regularly leaves and borrows books from the well-stocked neighborhood landmark, this is McClelland’s second free library.

“The first was her repurposed dovecote,” Brown said. “After a while, neighbor David Valente and son Michael offered to build a new one — as the dovecote was falling apart.”

By all accounts, McClelland’s towering library is well used, with trends and tastes in books often and conspicuously changing, as evidenced by the types of titles that come and go with regularity.

“It ebbs and flows,” said McClelland of the kinds of books she sees in the library. “We had a slew of young adult fiction, but not so much now. I like to see the bottom shelf in disarray after little kids touch everything."

Where things really get interesting is when people decide not to use their libraries for books at all, or at least not entirely for books. The library built for Karen Nau at 1268 Berrydale Drive, as a gift from her son on her 60th birthday, was initially intended as a place to share books, a passion of Nau, who is a preschool teacher. But because it was installed in the midst of the COVID-19 shutdowns in 2020, the purpose of the book box quickly expanded.

“It primarily has children’s and adult’s books, but during COVID — and often now, seasonally — I add non-book items like hand sanitizer, N95 masks and other COVID essentials,” said Nau. “Last February, I had fun Valentine treat boxes to take. In the springtime, it had hundreds of packages of garden seeds, though during the shutdown I added live succulents, mint plants and small bouquets of flowers. In the summertime, I add fun trinkets, coloring books, et cetera for children. Many of them are prizes left over from my classroom rewards.”

Nau has a neighbor who makes blown glass ladybug magnets, which can often be found in the library by delighted children, along with buckets of chalk for sidewalk art. After Halloween, Nau often leaves leftover Trick or Treat bags in her library, as well.

“It has been a joy,” she said, “to fill the library and watch people collect books and other items, including my grandkids that live on my street.“

A similarly multipurpose Little Free Library stands at 1005 Warren Drive, overlooking the Petaluma River. With an entirely separate glass-doored library box for kids, the main library has an upstairs and a downstairs, the bottom part crammed with books, the top frequently filled with foodstuffs. On the glass door, in white letters, it says, “Little Free Pantry. Take what you need, Leave what you can, above all be blessed.” The box frequently has other curious offerings as well. On a recent visit, there were individually bagged origami cranes and butterflies, hand-made bookmarks, and other raft items. For those taking care, there is even an attached exterior shelf with hand sanitizer for use before handling the books in the box.

The notion of a free food pantry for those in need is taken to a whole new (and very eye-catching) level at 2112 Sultana Drive, where a retro-looking refrigerator stands by the sidewalk, its interior generously filled with canned, boxed and bottled food items, its bottom shelf regularly stocked with disposable diapers.

Petaluma also has at least two “libraries” devoted entirely to sharing art. On the glass door of the charming light-blue box resting on the ground at 109 Howard St. (across from Crooked Goat Brewery) are the words, “Give Art or Take Art,” the interior often carrying small paintings, drawings and the like. A similar service is provided by the bright red art box at 512 Mountain View Ave., its own explanatory sign a reverse of the Howard Street box: “Take Art or Give Art.”

Among the more unexpected of Petaluma’s alternative little libraries is one designed for dogs. Located at 206 Hill Blvd. in west Petaluma, it’s essentially a basket full of dog toys, with a sign proclaiming, “Dog Library.” By all accounts, dogs do use the library, happily selecting a chew toy when passing by with their humans.

The jigsaw puzzle library established by Adrianne Brag and Alison Marks on the west side is so “out of the box” it doesn’t use a box at all. Instead, the neighbors’ enormous stash of puzzles is stored on a tall shelf made of rebar, kept inside Marks’ garage and used only on a by-appointment basis, since either Marks or Brag must be there to open up the garage.

“We basically just say, text us both when you want to come over, and if we’re here, you’re welcome to come and drop off some puzzles or take puzzles home with you,” said Marks. On a recent weekend, Marks showed off the hoard of puzzles, neatly arranged according to number of pieces.

“These are a thousand pieces, these are more than a thousand and these are less than a thousand,” she explained, pointing out the different stacks. “Someone came earlier this morning and took away seven or eight puzzles. We ask people to put a little note in the box if there are any missing pieces, because if not, a missing piece will make some people mad. I don’t mind a missing piece or two, but I like to know before I start building it.

“It’s been really fun, doing this,” she added. “And we’ve met a lot of people who love puzzles as much as we do, so that’s been great too. It’s a win-win, because I always have new puzzles now.”

To schedule an appointment to pick up a puzzle (or leave a few) text both 415-235-3367 and 916-541-0451. Directions to the puzzle library will be given in your response.