How a Little Box Can Make a Big Impact on Your Printing Business

Credit: ChatGPT by Deborah Corn

Driving around your neighborhood, you may have noticed small book-sharing boxes popping up in front of homes, schools, parks, churches, and businesses. They have a name: Little Free Libraries.

I spotted a brand-new one in my neighborhood this weekend, but it wasn't the first one I've seen. In fact, they seem to be appearing everywhere.

Then I came across a video from the Tree Street Little Library that captured the magic they can bring. This library lets neighborhood children request books they'd like to read. A boy who lived across the street had been checking the box regularly, hoping his request would show up.

The day it did, he grabbed the book, ran across the street to his house, and celebrated like he had won the lottery. The moment was caught on a Ring camera and was a poignant reminder that these little libraries are about much more than sharing books. (If you have Instagram, look up the Tree Street Little Library. This very short video is worth watching.)

Little Free Libraries started in 2009 as a tribute to a Wisconsin schoolteacher who loved books. It has grown into a global movement with more than 200,000 registered Little Free Libraries in 128 countries across all seven continents.

Collectively, they've shared more than 400 million books, and those numbers don't even include the countless unregistered libraries that have appeared in communities around the world.

As these community libraries continue to multiply, they offer something every print business is looking for: a genuine way to increase local visibility and remind people of their connection to print.

If your print shop is in an area with community foot traffic, consider installing a Little Free Library outside your business. If your location isn't optimal, think about creating one and placing it somewhere in your community that is accessible to everyone who wants to use it.

Take it up a notch or two by creating a sticker for the books your company donates. This lets readers know where it came from without turning the experience into a blatant advertisement.

Print bookmarks! Place them in the books you donate. Involve your team and give them bookmarks to leave in the libraries where they live. Refresh them often. Make them cool, make them collectable! Be creative.

The wish list concept takes more effort, but that process does bring everyone to your site. If you can capture the moment that kid gets the book they requested, you have social media gold, built-in resharing, and a solid connection to the community your business serves. Just make sure you get a release from parents/legal guardians to share it for anyone younger than 18.

Little Free Libraries aren't the only iteration of this neighborhood sharing idea. Communities are embracing Little Free Pantries, seed exchanges, puzzle libraries, community art boxes, and more.

Little Free Libraries have a map of registered participants, and more can be unregistered. Drive around. Ask your team to do the same. Identify how to best participate and get involved.

You spend a lot of time helping your customers become more visible. Here's an authentic opportunity to do the same for your business while championing print and publishing in the process.

The preceding content was provided by a contributor unaffiliated with Printing Impressions. The views expressed within may not directly reflect the thoughts or opinions of the staff of Printing Impressions. Artificial Intelligence may have been used in part to create or edit this content.