Sharing, Reading, Recycling - Little Free Libraries in the Gallatin Valley

I have long been a big fan of books, reading and libraries. My enthusiasm started at a young age, and I have fond memories of the library and library class at Fernbrook School as well as youth library programs at the Randolph Public Library. Given my enthusiasm for books and libraries, I have been quite delighted to see that free, neighborhood-based "libraries" have started to appear in Bozeman and throughout the Gallatin Valley.

The first library I discovered was located in a neighborhood near the MSU campus and I have come across three others since then. I can only hope that there are others scattered around town and across the valley.

The organization Little Free Library is leading some of these efforts but I imagine other groups and individuals are running similar programs. The website states that as of July 2015, over 30,000 registered libraries can be found in all 50 states and over 70 countries.

I always seem to have an abundance of books so I like the idea of leaving them for others via the free libraries. To date, I picked up and dropped off several books (Including a copy of Catcher in the Rye, which I picked up for Mike) and see that a wide range of books, from classic novels to self-help books to children's books and more, can be found in these community book depositories. The idea of bringing people and communities together through the sharing of books is a cool concept.

If you come across others in Bozeman and beyond, please leave their location in the comments section of this post.

Gallatin Valley Little Free Libraries

1. 13th & Alderson, northeast corner of the intersection
2. North Church & Fridley
3. East side of South Willson, in between Grant and Lincoln
4. South 14, west side of the street in between Alderson & Dickerson (Just discovered this on 9.23.15!)
5. East Garfield & South Bozeman, first house on the southwest side of the intersection (I found this for the first time on 5.21.16.)
6. North Plum Ave, two houses south of Orange Ave, west side of street (Discovered on May 2017)
7. North Black Ave, west side of the street, between Short & Lamme (I spoke with the owner who installed this library in June 2017)
8. North Ferguson & Carbon, south side of Carbon, first condo on the corner (Discovered June  2017)
9. 300 block of South Grand, east side of the street, middle of the block (Discovered July 28, 2017)
10. 200 block of North Yellowstone Ave, east side of the street, middle of the block (Discovered August 2017)
11. 200 block of South 3rd, east side of the street, middle of the block (Discovered September 2017)
12. South 6th & Arthur, house on the south east corner (Discovered October 23, 2017)
13. Community Health Partners, East Mendenhall (Discovered March 2018)
14. 200 block of South 9th (Discovered June 2018)
15. Corner of Garfield & Grand, Southwest corner of the block (Discovered October 26, 2018)
16. Hyalite School (Discovered 12.2018)
17. Unitarian Church, 325 N. 25th Ave (Discovered July 2019)
18. North 3rd, 400 block, west side of the street (Discovered August 2019)
19. First Big Sky library I've come across! At the Blue Moon Bakery (Discovered 12.8.2019)
20. Northeast corner of Durston and Flanders Mill (Discovered 4.1.2020)
21. Kurk Ave, north side of street between south 25th and 26th (Discovered 4.4.2020)
22. 200 block of Stephanie Ave, Bozeman/Belgrade area (Discovered 4.14.2020)
23. 300 block of South Bozeman Ave, west side of the street (Discovered April 23, 2020)
24. Highway 191, heading south to Big Sky, west side of the highway near a row of mail boxes just north of the Hell Roaring trailhead. (Discovered May 10, 2020)
25. 100 block of East Story, south side of the street (Discovered May 21, 2020)
26. First library discovered along a trail! On the 1100 block of Hunters Way, look for a gravel path on the east side of the street. The library is a short way down the trail, on the north side. (Discovered June 15,2020)
27. West Cascade, just east of Cottonwood, north side of the street (Discovered June 22, 2020) Update 10.18.2020 - these folks sold their place and took the library with them.
28. A second library along a trail. This one's on the Gardner Park Trail, not far from where it hits Gardner Park Drive, north side of the trail.  (Discovered June 27, 2020)
29. Cover Street, Valley West neighborhood, north side of the street - Cover Street is only one block long so it's not hard to find. (Discovered September 22, 2020)
30. N. Choteau Ave., between Cascade and Broadwater, west side of the street. Several houses south of Valley Unit Park. (Discovered 10.19.2020)
31. N. Sheridan Ave. 100 block, east side of the street. Between Cascade and Broadwater. (Discovered 11.17.2020)
32. Near the mail boxes across from the New World Gulch parking area up Bear Canyon. This is the most upscale library (A mini log cabin) I have come across. (Discovered 1.26.2021)
33. Corner of North Black Ave and Tamarack, southwest corner (Discovered 4.28.2021)
34. The organization Thrive has one at their location on East Babcock (Discovered 5.3.2021)
35. Corner of Highland Court & Hill Street, southwest corner (Discovered 6.28.2021)
36. Corner Hayes & 5th. At the frat house on the southeast corner (Discovered 8.13.2021)
37. 500 block of Clifden Ave, in the Valley West neighborhood, east side of the street (Discovered 8.21.2021)

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Read More

-Other posts about books: https://annvinciguerra.blogspot.com/search/label/Books

-One more about a library: https://annvinciguerra.blogspot.com/2019/07/some-days-you-just-bounce.html