Dunedin Unveils 11th Little Free Library

At noon, on December 27th, 2014, Sharon Miezio had her final wish fulfilled with the introduction of Dunedin’s newest Little Free Library (L.F.L.). Sharon, a long time Dunedin resident, passed away on May 21st of last year and wanted to leave a gift for the community. Dunedin’s art friendly culture has enthusiastically embraced the Little Free Library concept, making it the perfect locale to nurture the unique, philanthropic cause. The Dunedin L.F.L. family now totals 11.

With a group of over 20 relatives and close friends in attendance, Sharon’s sons, Peter and Adam, dedicated and unveiled the Little Free Library in memoriam to her. The Little Blue Tobacco Barn stands among the lush foliage, and under the shade of a stately, oak tree at 360 Monroe in downtown Dunedin.

The address is home to the Law Offices of Freeborn & Freeborn, who specialize in elder law. The library itself actually faces Douglas Street, roughly half way between the Dunedin Brewery and Pioneer Park, one of the most pedestrian friendly parts of town. Special thanks go out to John Freeborn, for making Sharon’s L.F.L. the first in Dunedin to hold the special distinction of being on private property.

A custom made plaque atop the library reads “Reading gave her great joy, she ‘went to Paris’, and this library is her gift to you.” Reading fed Sharon’s spirit, and her voracious literary hunger enlisted her as a fan of DoubleDay Book Club for 50 years. So the day when the idea of a Little Free Library crossed her consciousness, she immediately fell in love with the concept.

Sharon learned of the L.F.L. on November 27th, 2013, thanks to the newspaper magazine, Parade. The Sunday newspaper insert ran a blurb which simply said:

The movement started in Hudson, Wis., where Todd Bol mounted a wooden box filled with books outside his home. Today there are more than 10,000 “little free libraries” worldwide. To buy or build your own go to littlefreelibrary.org

As of January, 2014, there are an estimated 15,000 L.F.L.s around the world, either homemade or purchased from the L.F.L. website. The prefabricated Little Blue Tobacco Barn model Sharon chose is made from recycled barn wood and recycled tobacco lath, which was used to spear and dry tobacco. The wood for the custom plaque is upcycled from the heart of central Wisconsin’s Amish country by an Amish carpenter Henry who reclaims the wood from 100 year old barns.

Remember when visiting this L.F.L. or any other, there’s only one simple rule: take a book, leave book. The L.F.L. is based on the honor system and requires no public library membership.

For more information on and the locations of the 11 L.F.L.s in Dunedin please go to either the Dunedin L.F.L. facebook page or the dunedin.gov website, and go to > the government tab, > the library tab, > finally click on L.F.L. For further inquiries please contact Phyllis Gorshe, Library Director of the Dunedin Public Library, who helps to curate the family of Dunedin L.F.L.s. Special thanks are also owed to Phyllis for her help placing the L.F.L. and supplying books.