LYNX LIFE LIBRARY

Books offer more than just knowledge: They are an escape, a chance to learn and grow, and a way to understand different perspectives. Not only is storytelling deeply embedded in our history as a species, but it is ingrained in our everyday lives. We are constantly exchanging stories with one another as a way to build connections. Access to books should never be a barrier to reading.

To increase access to reading and storytelling for everyone on campus, this fall the staff of the Writing Center at CU Denver established the Auraria Campus’ first registered Little Free Library (charter #207518) on the first floor of the Learning Commons building, where the Writing Center is located. In just a few short weeks, our Library is already filled with dozens of books from the shelves of homes all over Denver, creating a melting pot of the CU Denver community. It showcases fiction, non-fiction, biographies, self-help books, and everything in between. 

The first Little Free Libraries (LFLs) emerged in 2011 and are the product of a non-profit organization with the goal of inspiring community building through resource sharing. The organization increases accessibility to books by providing 24/7 book-exchange access and installing new LFLs in underserved areas at no cost. The idea is simple: take a book, leave a book. The Writing Center’s Library is now part of a community of more than 200,000 registered book-sharing boxes across the world, including in all 50 states. And this doesn’t even count all of the DIY libraries that people have built and maintained that aren’t officially chartered with the well-known Little Free Library non-profit.

Although they have been around for over a decade, I associate LFLs with life during the pandemic - an era of “hot girl walks” and extreme puzzling. In a time when our lives felt fragmentary, the LFLs offered a sense of kinship and camaraderie. Fern Curtiss-Kauer, a Writing Center graduate assistant and master’s students in archaeology, found during a recent research project that LFLs tend to reflect the values and identities of the communities in which they reside. Community members fill the shelves with books and resources from their own homes, and in doing so share a piece of their identity and values with one another. CU Denver is a space where students and staff from all backgrounds come together, so our little Library offers a unique hodgepodge of literary choices. It is a reflection of those who bring our community to life and allows us to interact with each other on a micro scale, where we exchange information and ideas. In line with the needs we’ve perceived for the CU community, we have also included an arts-and-crafts shelf where students and staff can learn to create origami rabbits and exchange their favorite de-stressing activities with one another. 

The role of an LFL within a writing center may not seem clear at first, however, when we write we draw on what we know. We use language and imitate styles we are comfortable with. At the Writing Center, we firmly believe that the reading process is non-linear. We are constantly improving our reading skills, and in doing so we strengthen our writing skills. If we push ourselves to read a new genre, author, or writing style we can improve our ability to understand alternate perspectives and become better writers. In the words of Margaret Atwood, “A word after a word after a word is power”. It is our hope that anyone who comes through the writing center, whether for a consultation or to pick up a new book, leaves feeling a little more empowered.