Lakewood Ranch's Little Free Library club writes its first chapter

Greenbrook’s Hannah Weakley and her 1-year-old daughter, Avery, walked up to the new Little Free Library at Greenbrook Adventure Park. 

They took their time looking at the various children’s books available before choosing “Little Blue Truck’s Springtime.”

Photo by Liz Ramos

Arbor Grande’s Elizabeth Henderson, who founded the Little Free Library Club in Lakewood Ranch, was all smiles as she saw dozens of people browse through the books during the library’s ribbon-cutting April 8.

Henderson began working to open a little library in 2014 when she opened one at a recreation center in Maine where she was living. When she moved to Arbor Grande in 2018, she brought the library with her and installed it in her neighborhood for people to enjoy. 

Henderson thought people throughout Lakewood Ranch would love to have access to books at every public park, so in 2019, she received permission to start the Little Library Club in Lakewood Ranch.

The pandemic stalled her plans to start the club, but in January, she finally began club meetings. 

About 13 Lakewood Ranch residents come together on the second Monday of every month to be a part of the Little Library Club. 

“I love to meet people from different neighborhoods, different parts of (Lakewood Ranch), since it’s growing so fast,” Henderson said. “I felt more hands make for fun work. We’ve been having a lot of fun.”

Club members were able to stop by Henderson’s home to help with the building and painting of the library in her garage. 

“It’s a great sense of building community and getting to know different people, and that will continue,” Henderson said. 

In four months, the club was able to design, build and install its first little library April 8 at Greenbrook Adventure Park. 

The little library is in honor of Country Club East’s Arielle Monserez’s mother, Irene Farese, who died of pancreatic cancer last June. Monserez inherited all the books that belonged to Farese, who was an avid reader.

Photo by Liz Ramos

“I thought what a shame to just get rid of all these books, and we better put these to better use,” Monserez said. “She loved books and loved reading. It was a special way for us to connect with her. During the pandemic, since we couldn’t see each other, she would FaceTime us every night so she could read books to my kids. Something like this really honors who she was.”

Hammock’s Geoff O’Quinn hopes the little library will inspire children to get outside as well as inspire community members to gather. He said he would love to see the little library spark a child’s interest in art or engineering. 

The little library is stocked with books for all ages, and Henderson hopes people will donate books to ensure the library is continually stocked. 

The club now will work to obtain permission to install a library at another Lakewood Ranch park.