Ribbon cut on 700th Little Free Library in Greater Victoria

The Greater Victoria Placemaking Network (GVPN) welcomed their 700th little free library this past weekend.

On Sunday, the community gathered in Vic West, to cut the ribbon on the newest little library in the region.

The library, named the “Kiddo Library” was built by Kolby Gasko, and can be found at 448 Wilson Street.

"I built this little library with my son Wolf who loves reading all kinds of books with us. He also really likes helping me build any sort of projects that I'm working on,” said Gasko.

“Our collection of kids books was starting to make our bookshelf sag, so we thought we could share with the neighbourhood, and hopefully get a few new ones once in a while! We built it out of scrap material from a few job sites, we even found the glass panels on the side of the road."

The public book boxes operate on the principle of “leave a book, take a book.” The network helps promote, build and stock the libraries through the Pocket Places Project, and has a map online of all the spots where you can find books, plants, seeds, toys, household items, board games, art and more.

To date, they’ve helped set up over 120 libraries and delivered over 85,000 books to the boxes across the CRD, most of them delivered by bike.

“I am constantly impressed by our growing little free library community,” says Teale Phelps Bondaroff, who is a city councillor in Saanich as well as a seven-year volunteer and lead of the Pocket Places Project.

Yesterday, neighbours gathered on Wilson St. in Vic West to cut the ribbon on the 700th #LittleFreeLibrary in the CRD! 📚

It was a fantastic celebration of #Placemaking and community 🎉#VictoriaBC #YYJ @CityOfVictoria @VicPlacemaking pic.twitter.com/V1reMC7qka

— Dr. Teale Phelps Bondaroff (@TealePB) July 31, 2023

“I have long described little free libraries as coral reefs for community. It’s amazing how something as simple as a little book box can serve to connect people, create an identity of place, and ultimately help build community.”

“As the liaison to Vic West from Victoria City Council, I'm really pleased that the region's 700th little free library is opening in Vic West,” said Victoria Councillor Jeremy Caradonna.

“Little free libraries are a phenomenal way to encourage reading, bring creative design to the street, and create ways for neighbours to interact with each other. My gratitude to Councillor Phelps Bondaroff and all those who've been involved in advancing this successful program.”