What are the ‘Little Free Libraries’ in Fresno? See if one is in your neighborhood

Have you seen little lockers in your neighborhood that happen to be advertising books for all? That’s a Little Free Library.

They are operated by a Minnesota-based nonprofit of the same name. Any independent resident can register via the organization’s website to become the patron of a charter. Patrons set up boxes in their neighborhood and stock them with books made available to the general public.

The locations can be found by searching for a city, state, or zip code in the organization’s world map.

Reyna Blackburn is the overseer of a Little Free Library on Fairmont Ave. in Fresno. After observing these libraries in places like Monterey and Pismo, she was inspired to begin her own in Fresno.

Blackburn has found that the libraries foster neighborhood camaraderie.

“It’s those people that are looking for a greater sense of community,” she said of the visitors. “They kind of want to know what’s going on in the community, and they find this little library, and they go, ‘Ooh, what’s going on over here?’”

Guests have left sticky notes at the Fairmont location expressing their appreciation for the project.

When she first established the outpost, Blackburn supplied it with a guestbook where people could fill in suggestions about the kind of books they wanted to read., but the book was taken — “maybe by mistake, maybe somebody liked it,” Blackburn said. Now, it is up to her to “try to put a diverse selection in there.”

“My main role as I see it is to make sure that there’s diversity there and that the books are clean,” Blackburn said.

Husband-and-wife team Kimberly and John Schaefer operate the Little Free Library on McKelvy and Swift avenues in Clovis. Kimberly Schaefer is an adult education teacher who has turned the Little Free Library into an educational resource.

“We wanted to make books accessible to everyone,” she said. When donations overwhelm the tiny library, she shares books with the Clovis Adult School.

Living on the corner of two streets, the couple thought they lived in a prime spot for foot traffic. The Schaefers’ Little Free Library has three levels. The top row is for adult books, although those have been “slow-moving.” Children’s books are most in demand.

“We have a little fairy garden in front of the library for kids to stop. We know that parents go on walks and their kids wanna go by the library,” Schaefer said. She and her husband do not ask that books be returned.

Schaefer pointed out that for families that have not prioritized reading to their children in the past, or for families who do not have access to free books, the Little Free Library can open up a new world.

This story was originally published May 29, 2026 at 5:30 AM with the headline "What are the ‘Little Free Libraries’ in Fresno? See if one is in your neighborhood."