Although there are only about 40 books under her care, Angela Boleyn loves being a librarian.
The stay-at-home mom is the official steward for the Little Free Library set up in her Navy housing community in Pearl City.
The international Little Free Library project supports individuals who set up structures filled with books where passers-by can "take a book, leave a book, return a book," she said.
Boleyn’s library — filled with a mix of children’s and adult books — is made of a cabinet and sits against the side of her house at 3725 Elm Drive.
She was inspired to start it about six months ago after a couple who ran a similar one in the Manana Military Housing neighborhood moved.
"It’s a great way to promote literacy, but the whole idea is really about community," Boleyn said.
Todd Bol and Rick Brooks founded the Little Free Library, a Wisconsin-based nonprofit, in 2012 as a social enterprise that encourages the free exchange of books. They encouraged the construction of little libraries using recycled materials.
The movement grew worldwide, and an estimated 15,000 have been established around the globe.
Hawaii has a handful of Little Free Libraries — six listed statewide, including Boleyn’s.
Boleyn said her family went to Re-use Hawaii in Kakaako and bought a cabinet, to which they added a stand and two shelves. They painted it blue, with a red top.
To set up a Little Free Library, one simply has to decide where to put it, then build or purchase a structure and make it official by registering at www.littlefreelibrary.org.
Various handcrafted wood models may be purchased from the nonprofit for about $200 and up. Designs range from one that looks like a blue barn to a British phone booth.
Registering requires a one-time fee of $34.95, which covers a charter sign and number. Stickers are provided to put in books, designating them as part of the Little Free Library.
On Hawaii island, Robin Vaughn’s Little Free Library is set up in her front yard. It’s a simple wooden box on a post next to her driveway, painted green and white to match her home in the Milolii Beach Lots subdivision, about 33 miles south of Kailua-Kona.
She said her husband built it using scrap lumber, with hinges and plexiglass purchased from a hardware store.
Vaughn, an Oceanside, Calif., transplant and retired building inspector, said she saw the libraries on the mainland and always wanted to start one. Her books are mostly tailored to the community of retirees.
"The neighbors come by and drop off books," she said. "We stop and chat."
The nearest public library is more than 20 miles away, so Vaughn, an avid reader, says the Little Free Library has been a great way for her to access new books without having to buy them.
"We have had so many donations we will be building a second library in the near future to hold all the books," she said.
On Oahu, Boleyn’s library is located around the corner from her lanai, which offers a table and chairs as a place to read.
"It’s been so much fun," she said. "Little kids have fun because they know it’s their library. They don’t have to knock on the door and we don’t have to be home. It’s always fun to discover a little person on my porch outside, enjoying a book."
Other Little Free Libraries are listed in Schofield Barracks, Wailuku and Koloa, Kauai.
