Build a Little Library

General Little Free Library is a nonprofit organization started in 2009 to encourage book sharing via public bookcases called Little Free Libraries. These bookcases are located in neighborhoods around the world! Add a little library to your community by building one yourself with the help of this class. Materials The library is made primarily from ¾”plywood, and the entire library will come from one 4’ x 8’ sheet. A small amount of solid wood is used to make the door and trim. It isn’t imperative that you use exterior plywood, as long as you do a good job of painting your library. How It’s built Your library comes together with dado and rabbet joinery. A router table is used in the instructional video, but the joinery can also be done on table saw. This project lends itself to applying finish before assembly, so you’ll do a little painting on the interior faces. Once you make adjustable shelf holes, your library is ready to come together with exterior glue. More Joinery In addition to learning about dadoes and rabbets, you’ll see how to make rabbeted half lap joints. This is the joinery used on the door. It’s very robust, which makes it great for this application, and you automatically end up with a rabbet for the plexiglass. Getting It in Your Yard Our approach to installing the library is to simply put a post in the ground and fasten the library to the post. The video shows you how to make the post mounting column for the library.