Over the weekend, the 1,000th little free library (LFL) was officially launched by the Greater Victoria Placemaking Network (GVPN).
To celebrate this milestone, GVPN held the first Beats, Bikes and Books Festival at the Oaklands Community Centre, which brought out hundreds of book-lovers from throughout the region.
“It was heartwarming to see so many people come together to celebrate 1,000 little free libraries in the region,” said Teale Phelps Bondaroff, Pocket Places Project Lead.
“Seeing so many people come out to celebrate was a powerful reminder that little free libraries are about so much more than books – they are about bringing people together through placemaking and building community, one book box at a time.”
For those who have seen them around the community, but never stopped to look inside, LFLs are little book boxes that operate on the principle of ‘leave a book – take a book,’ and come in all different shapes and sizes.
In addition to containing books, there are also a growing number of specialized LFLs that aim to share other items with community members, such as plants, seeds, toys, yarn, household items, board games, puzzles, art supplies, art, food, and more.
GVPN has been keeping track of LFLs and diligently mapping them out through their Pocket Places Project since 2017.
To date, over 128,000 books have been delivered to LFLs across Greater Victoria, and GVPN has helped in establishing 139 of the little libraries throughout that time.
During the Beats, Bikes and Books Festival held this past Saturday to mark the occasion of the opening of the 1,000th LFL, GVPN also announced the inaugural Greater Victoria Little Free Library Awards.
These awards will allow members of the community to nominate their favourite LFLs to be recognized by an award.
“We launched the 2025 Greater Victoria Little Free Library Awards to celebrate all the creativity, care, and love that goes into creating and maintaining the little free libraries in our region,” said Phelps Bondaroff.
“We wanted to give people the opportunity to spotlight a little free library that has helped build community in their neighbourhood.”
According to GVPN, anyone can nominate a LFL with the prize categories being:
- Best plant/seed LFL
- Best boardgame/puzzle LFL
- Most verdant greenroof
- Best literary themed LFL
- Cutest LFL
- Most creative LFL
- Best LFL with a bird on it
- Best organized LFL
- Best LFL that looks like another thing
- Best upcycled/reused LFL
LFL nominations and voting can be conducted online here, with nominations closing on October 20th. People can vote online for their favourites up until November 6th.
Winners and runners up will be announced at the GVPN’s 2025 annual general meeting (AGM), held on November 13th.
💬 Join the conversation
No comments yet — be the first to start the conversation
