The Mason Public Library has installed a new Little Free Library outside its main door, in celebration of Little Free Library Week.

Little Free Libraries are boxes where residents can freely take and leave books, in a way to encourage access to books and literacy.

“This Little Free Library will be a hub for sharing books of all genres and ages, fostering literacy and community engagement,” said Library Director Judy Forty.

Forty said that Mason, which has a rich history of community leaders, artists, authors and illustrators, including C.W. Anderson and Elizabeth Orton Jones, is the perfect town to embrace this kind of movement, which is focused on encouraging community involvement and fostering a love of reading.

The nonprofit organization celebrates Little Free Library Week May 11 to 17, and the Mason Public Library celebrated Monday by cutting the ribbon on its own new library with help from students from Mason Elementary School. Students helped to fill the Little Free Library with books, along with Forty and Children’s Librarian Courtney Landry.

Rather than be supplied with books from the library’s annual book budget, the library is stocked by members of the community, in a “take a book, leave a book,” model. This is typical of Little Free Libraries, part of a movement founded by Todd H. Bol in 2009. The movement encourages the installation of these book exchanges as a way for people to discover new books and connect with neighbors. It has become a global movement, and in March, Little Free Libraries marked more than 200,000 built worldwide.

The new Little Free Library is at 16 Darling Hill Road, at the library and across the street from Mason Elementary School. For information about the Mason Little Free Library, contact library@masonnh.us, and for information about Little Free Libraries and how to create one, visit littlefreelibrary.org/start.

Anyone can start a Little Free Library by registering with the organization, building or purchasing a library and stocking it with books. There are mobile apps and a web map to help find other Little Free Libraries.

Ashley Saari can be reached at 603-924-7172, Ext. 244, or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on X @AshleySaariMLT.