Tyler’s Free Little Libraries are small boxes for sharing books at various parks.

TYLER, Texas (KLTV) – Tyler librarians visited Little Libraries across the city on Friday to restock their collections and evaluate their selections.

Tyler’s Free Little Libraries are small boxes for sharing books at various parks. In 2021, Tyler’s Parks Department established six of these small libraries to promote literacy and provide free reading materials for all ages.

“The community has responded really well to the small libraries,” said Maggie Hodges, collection development specialist at the Tyler Public Library.

These libraries allow community members to exchange books, with the small libraries replenishing stocks every six weeks according to the community’s preferences, including Spanish books.

“In Hillside, where there is more of a Latino community, we put Spanish books there for children and sometimes for adults,” Hodges said.

The libraries operate on a “take a book, leave a book” principle, encouraging community participation.

“It’s a place where people can find interesting books that they might never have read otherwise,” said Brent McClendon, resource librarian at the Tyler Public Library. “It even gives kids who come to the parks something to read, something they can take home.”

It has helped many in the community, especially homeschooling mothers.

“I have a 5-year-old that I homeschool, and you know, it’s a rewarding journey,” said Nathalie Martin, a homeschooling mom from North Tyler. “We saw the library coming out recently and filling up. “Within the last hour or so, we decided to come over and see what was going on and found a book.”

The initiative also carries out a sorting process to remove outdated or rarely borrowed books and give them one last chance at the Little Libraries.

The Little Libraries are located around the City of Tyler in Hillside, Faulkner, Emmet J. Scott, Pollard, Southside and City Park.

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