Three of the World’s Tiniest Libraries Are in the Hudson Valley

You've probably driven past one of these mini-libraries located in the Hudson Valley without even noticing it.

They're called Little Free Libraries and their purpose is to promote reading by making it easy for everyone to access books. These tiny libraries are usually the size of a large bird house. They're sturdy enough to protect books from the weather, but never locked and always open to the public.

There are actually 36,000 of these small structures now located all over the world, creating free book exchanges in communities both big and small. The way they work is quite simple; You take a book, read it, and return the book when you're done. There are no library cards or signing out books, no due dates or fines. Everything runs on the honor system. The benefit is that anyone, at any time, can have access to books.

The Hudson Valley is currently home to three Little Free Libraries. According to the organization's official website, there is one in Ulster County at Zena Rec Park in Woodstock/Kingston. An Orange County library is located at 13 Pat Road in Newburgh. Another little library can be found in Dutchess County at the Stop and Shop plaza in Hyde Park.

On our visit to the Hyde Park Little Free Library we were disappointed to find that there were no children's books available. A sign seeking donations for younger readers explains that that the books are in high demand.

If you happen to have any children's books in good condition you can always visit a Little Free Library and leave them there. Of course, your local "regular-sized" library will also have a wider selection of books that are always free to borrow as well.

What do you think about the Little Free Library movement? Is this something you'd like to see in your own community?

UPDATE: Hudson Valley residents Abigail and Phoebe McDonough inform us that they have added two more Little Free Libraries in the Ulster County area. One is at the Hurley Library and the other is in Forsyth Nature Center in Kingston. Please let us know if you hear of any others that aren't on the Little Free Library's official list.