Little Free Library Unveils Its 200,000th Book-Sharing Box, Spanning 128 Countries

It started as a single wooden box on a Wisconsin lawn in 2009. In March 2025, the Little Free Library movement reached a remarkable milestone: the installation of its 200,000th book-sharing box. The landmark library was donated to Benjamin E. Mays IB World School, an elementary school in St. Paul, Minnesota — fittingly located in the historic Rondo neighborhood, a community with deep roots and a long story of resilience.

The numbers behind the milestone reveal just how far the idea has traveled. The Little Free Library network now spans all 50 U.S. states, 128 countries and all seven continents. Each box runs on a simple, trust-based principle — take a book, leave a book — that turns a sidewalk or a front yard into a tiny, around-the-clock hub for reading and neighborly exchange. There are no fees, no cards and no due dates; just books freely shared among people who may never meet but share a love of stories.

“In March 2025, the Little Free Library movement reached a remarkable milestone: the installation of its 200,000th book-sharing box.”

To honor the achievement, the nonprofit and publisher Penguin Random House teamed up to widen access where it is needed most. The partnership granted 200 Little Free Libraries to Title I elementary schools across the country — schools that serve large shares of students from low-income families — along with more than 40,000 donated books. The effort directly targets "book deserts," neighborhoods where children have few or no books at home or nearby.

"We are honored to recognize all the work done by our global network of stewards and supporters to reach 200,000 Little Free Libraries," said Greig Metzger, the organization's executive director. That global network is its real engine: tens of thousands of volunteer "stewards" who build, stock and tend the boxes on their own blocks. Behind a milestone number lies something harder to count — countless small acts of generosity that, together, put a book within reach of a child who might not otherwise have one.