Sharing a good book with a neighbor can spread goodwill through both the giving and receiving. Shenandoah, Silver Bluffs and Coconut Grove are home to many Little Free Libraries—neighborhood book-exchange boxes installed and maintained by volunteer neighbors. In fact, the official Little Free Library website map indicates that the Spotlight’s readership area may have the highest density of these libraries in South Florida. Other little libraries are also scattered through the area, although they don’t appear on the organization’s website.
The boxes, typically no more than two-foot wide, are designed, built, decorated and maintained on personal initiative, many anonymously. They typically hold about three dozen books behind a protective cabinet door. Donated by local neighbors or the ‘librarian’ themselves, the books are curated by the librarian or helper. As a result, the range of topics found among the books on a recent morning was as wide and deep as the nearby communities—which for these neighborhoods can be astounding. Passers-by can choose to borrow any book they find, keep it for as long as they want or drop off a book they want to donate. Everything about the libraries’ use is free.
The first little library in the area is credited to Steven Tonkinson and can be found on Trapp Avenue at Lucaya Street. High profile locations include the entrance to The Barnacle State Historic Park and across from Blanch Park’s dog park on Virginia Street. Two are located near Silver Bluff Park and another on the cross-over trail connecting Plaza Street with Loquat Avenue. The little libraries are not affiliated with the county’s public libraries.
If you know of a little library not shown on the Little Free Library map online, please drop a note to the Spotlight and share its location. Thanks!
Miami Commissioner Damian Pardo invites everyone to his public “Have a brew with District 2” gathering on Fuller Street. Billed as an opportunity to chat informally and directly with our elected representative to the city’s commission, the happy hour format is presented as an opportunity to also meet neighbors and city officials in a thoughtful, casual setting. Fuller Street. Monday 12/30, 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. Free.
Save Me a Seat
The King Mango Strut marches through downtown Coconut Grove Sunday afternoon, 1/5/25. Curbside seating is free, first come-first served, and many friends and families set up their blankets and chairs hours ahead of the parade’s start. The parade begins on Main Highway at Commodore Plaza, turns sharply left at CocoWalk onto Grand Avenue and ends near the post office. Lasting about two hours, the parade starts Sunday, 1/5/25 at 2:00 p.m. Priceless.
