There are over 845 little free libraries (LFLs) in Greater Victoria and soon they will see the 100,000th book donated to the endeavour.
To commemorate this milestone, a competition is being held to decide what book it should be.
“I still remember how excited I was when I dropped off the 5,000th book in 2018 – a vintage travel guide to Victoria,” said Teale Phelps Bondaroff, Greater Victoria Placemaking Network (GVPN) volunteer, Pocket Places Project Lead and Saanich District Councillor.
“If you would have told me then that I’d be delivering our 100,000th book to a little free library six years later, I would not have believed you.”
For past milestones in the LFL initiative, Phelps Bondaroff says that it has been fun to choose the new entries thematically, with some humour and trying to focus on local literature.
“Selecting the books for some of our milestones has been relatively easy. For example, Jules Verns’ Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas was an obvious choice for our 20,000th book, and I found a copy of a book about Warhammer 40K for our 40,000th book. For other milestones we’ve celebrated and showcased local authors,” said Phelps Bondaroff.
“We wanted to do something extra special for our 100,000th book and I can’t wait to see people’s suggestions.”
See also:
- Victoria-born cinematographer gets opportunity to work on ‘The Last of Us’
- There could be a Stanley Cup parade coming to Victoria for the first time ever
The competition is now open for entries and Phelps Bondaroff wants all readers in Greater Victoria to be able to have a say in what is chosen to be the 100,000th book.
Book suggestions can be made online here.
The winning book will be announced at an event slated for July 20th, where it will be officially placed in one of the LFLs.
The LFL initiative has been run by the GVPN’s Pocket Places Project since 2017, which encourages people to donate books and build new LFLs throughout the region.
These LFLs run on the notion of ‘leave a book, take a book’ and also include anything from plants, seeds, toys, household items, board games, puzzles, art supplies, art, food, hygiene products and more.
