More than two dozen free library boxes have been installed in NYC community gardens

Little Free Library is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to expand book access and build community by installing actual library boxes across the world, where people can take a title and leave one for others to take. This summer, the nonprofit The New York Restoration Project (NYRP), which seeks to improve the quality of our public spaces, installed 28 of these book-sharing destinations within New York’s community gardens.

Each box contains at least 10 books donated by the New York Public Library's Tompkins Square branch and others that are part of Scholastic's Read in Color Book Bundle. The latter collection includes works about marginalized communities, touching upon themes like social justice and racism. 

"We are so pleased to now have Little Free Libraries in half our gardens throughout New York City. NYRP's mission is to create equitable access to quality green spaces, and we are excited to now incorporate these book-sharing boxes to serve this mission," Lynn B. Kelly, executive director of NYRP, said. "Knowledge is power, and Little Free Libraries will allow New Yorkers from all walks of life to share resources and stories. We are constantly reimagining the potential uses of our NYRP parks and gardens and are now proud to not only provide a place to enjoy a book, but to get one, too!"

Find the newly installed Little Free Libraries across these 28 locations:

Manhattan:

• Union Settlement
• Maggie's Garden – 564 West 149th Street
• El Barrio Community Garden – 415 East 117th Street
• Toyota East Children's Learning Garden –  603 East 11th Street
• Riley-Levin Children's Garden – 3703 10th Avenue
• The Dorothy Strelsin Memorial Community Garden – 174 Suffolk Street
• Herb Garden – 176 East 111th Street
• Friendship Garden (Wicked) – 499 West 150th Street

Bronx:

• Bathgate Community Garden – 1818 Bathgate Avenue
• Glover Street Community Garden – 1642 Castle Hill Avenue
• Bette’s Rose Garden – 1017 Teller Avenue
• Paradise on Earth, Fannie’s Garden – 1106 Fox Street
• Target Bronx Community Garden – 1025 Anderson Avenue

Queens:

• Seagirt Boulevard Community Garden – 30-03 Seagirt Boulevard
• Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson Community Garden – 117-15 165th Street

Brooklyn:

• Farmers Garden
• Cooper Street Community Garden – 34 Cooper Street
• Williams Avenue Community Garden – 88 Williams Avenue
• Greene Acres Community Garden – 322 Franklin Avenue
• Imani Community Garden – 87 Schenectady Avenue
• Bridge Plaza Community Garden – 163 Concord Street
• Aberdeen Community Garden – 91 Aberdeen Street
• Gil Hodges Community Garden – 534 Carroll Street
• Hull Street Community Garden – 145 Hull Street
• Target Brooklyn Community Garden – 931 Bedford Avenue
• Jane Bailey Community Garden – 327 Green Avenue
• Bedford-Stuyvesant Community Garden – 95 Malcolm X Boulevard

Staten Island:

• Westervelt Community Garden – 143 Westervelt Avenue