Page 50 - 2024_Jour_90-5

Finding Community Allies for Social Studies:

A Case Study on Little Free Libraries

By Amber J. Godwin and Abbie R. Strunc

The authors report on a limited longitudinal case study developed to understand the role and potential role of
community-based Little Free Libraries in encouraging discourse about key topics in social studies. Using a qualitative
phenomenological research design based on van Dijk’s (2016) socio-cognitive perspective, they sought to explore
the reading behaviors of residents of a planned suburban neighborhood in a state in the southwest United States.
Data suggested that Little Free Libraries can provide important content to participants, particularly in a context of
restriction of social studies materials in schools.

tate legislative bodies in Texas, among several other of the United States, have
Spassed new laws recently that have not only limited social studies content but
have also banned books with social studies themes (National Council for the Social
Studies, 2021). As lawmakers have removed two pathways for engagement in
social studies content, adolescents are missing out on the opportunity to develop
“historical ideas, attachments, and identities” (Levesque & Croteau, 2022, p. 120)
and to fulfill what teachers hope for: “growing literate beings who are competent and
confident” (Leland et al., 2012, p. 60). This study was conducted to discover ways
in which books moved through a Little Free Library (LFL) and, by extension, how
community members who live around the LFL were interacting by sharing fiction
and nonfiction books with each other, specifically social studies content in fiction and
nonfiction books. This study is important because finding examples of social studies
interactions through shared LFL books could indicate that the mindsets these works
incorporate are being explored despite policies produced to control the dominant
discourse of social studies.

Background
The LFL movement changed access to reading materials and sought to provide
more books in book deserts in more than 100 countries with free-standing structures
where countless numbers of books are exchanged—with the central goal of providing
access to different kinds of books for all readers (Fuentes, 2018; Shachar, 2018).
According to the LFL website (2023), this 501(c)(3) nonprofit
is a “take a book, share a book” free book exchange. They come in many
shapes and sizes, but the most common version is a small wooden box of
books. Anyone may take a book or bring a book to share. Little Free Library
book exchanges have a unique, personal touch. There is an understanding
that real people are sharing their favorite books with their community; little
libraries have been called “mini-town squares.”
The community spaces provided by LFLs allow for a “championing of diverse
books” and provide opportunities for “collaboration” within communities (LFL,
2023). This research project emerged from curiosity regarding the impact and
potential cultural imprint created intentionally or unintentionally by LFLs. Some
have expressed concern about the kinds of books found in LFLs for reasons that
range from ideological “seeding” (Capps, 2017) to zoning laws (Associated Press
State Wire, 2015). However, others are in favor of the LFLs as is indicated by their
participation in the book exchanges and even the building of their own LFLs. The

48 The Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin: International Journal for Professional Educators