Angie Blocker with her Little Free Library on North Elm in Toledo. PHOTO BY MICHAEL PAPERBACK DAVIS

On the north side of Elm Street in Toledo, a small green building sits atop a pole. This is a Little Free Library. A few years ago, Angie Blocker, an avid reader, was reviewing books on Instagram when she stumbled upon the Little Free Library trend. Angie knew right away she wanted to build one for the community.

After looking at dozens and dozens of designs and even visiting Little Free Libraries out of town, Angie and her husband built and registered their library. A keen eye may notice that the little building on the front lawn looks a little bit similar to the Blocker’s home itself.

People stop by regularly to pick up a book or see the new selection in Angie’s Little Free Library. “We have some traffic, but I would LOVE to see more! I have even seen a few out of state cars,” Angie said about the citizens that have stopped by her library.

One type of visitor, though, fills her with joy more than any other, as Angie has said, “It makes my day when I see our youth visiting it too!”

The books get rotated weekly, so there is always something new on the shelves. And the genres in Angie’s library are wide-ranging, so it’s not all the same, and there’s something for every visitor. One of the newest additions to the library is ‘Blind Date with a Book’, where you pick out a covered book, not knowing if it’s Stephen King, Leo Tolstoy, or Dr. Seuss. You just have to have faith and an open mind, willing to risk jumping into the unknown with your next read.

And if you thought that books were the only things you were going to encounter at this library, you’d be wrong. Angie, a crafter, likes to throw in the occasional handmade bookmark or pen for any friendly visitor to take home.

The motto of the Little Free Library is ‘Take a book, Leave a book,’ but that’s not the motto of Angie’s library. If Angie’s library had a motto, it would be more like, ‘If you wanna take a book, that’s cool. If you don’t, that’s cool too. If you wanna leave a book, that’s great. If you don’t, don’t worry about it.’

There is no pressure to leave a book at Angie’s library, but if you feel like dropping one, two, or even a box full off, she’ll take them. Angie has a few friends who donate several books at a time; they just leave them by the door. Angie takes them happily, rotating them in the little library the next week. Angie’s Little Free Library is an officially chartered Little Free Library. This means that if you don’t know where to go if you can’t find North Elm, then you can download the Little Free Library (LFL) App and find it on the map. Angies’ Little Free Library also has a dedicated Facebook page that updates you on what’s new on the shelves.

So, download the app, check out the Facebook page, or just take a walk over to North Elm and see what’s on the shelf yourself. Maybe there’s a book in that little green library right now that will change your life or just brighten your day.