Little Libraries May Be Coming to Marion, Iowa City

Finding a good book in Iowa could get a little easier.

Miniature school houses about the size of a mailbox and filled with books are popping up in towns around the world, and soon could be coming to Iowa City and Marion.

Started in 2010 in Wisconsin, the literacy project called the Little Free Library is a free book exchange that many communities around the world are embracing. It's founders are Todd Bol and Rick Brooks, who first met in 2009.

The Little Free Libraries are filled with 20 or 30 books with the idea that you take one and leave one. The goal is to top Andrew Carnegie's record of 2,510 libraries around the world.

According to the group's website, the Iowa City UNESCO City of Literature team expects to bring the Little Free Library project to Iowa City with at least three locations by the end of January.

In 2008, Iowa City was the third city in the world to be named a UNESCO City of Literature, a designation the community proudly supports. Iowa City joined Edinburgh, Scotland, and Melbourne, Australia, and since then Dublin, Ireland, and Reykjavik, Iceland have been added.

The Iowa City Press-Citizen reports the Longfellow Neighborhood Association in Iowa City is independently considering the project, and literacy advocates in Marion are also fast at work to get the project started.

The project is open to the public at large. Click here to learn about starting a Little Free Library on your own.

What do you think? Would you use Free Little Library or would prefer going to the or the ?