Lisa’s love leads to free library for subdivision
Now it’s helping provide a community library right outside her door.
Bengston and her husband, Adam Bengston, worked together on what is the latest “Little Free Library” in Farragut. She repainted and repurposed a secondhand freestanding enclosed structure, donated by a neighbor, and Adam “did all the digging and concrete pouring” to set it up.
“I did a facelift,” she said of the charming two-story mini library. “I painted it and patched the roof, then put the sign on.”
They placed it along the Farragut greenway, running from Kingsgate into Inverness, which also runs right beside the Bengston’s home along Hidden Grove Road, and filled it with a variety of books for all ages.
The concept is to “take a book—share a book” to keep a variety of reading material circulating through the library. The family’s contribution is listed as Charter No.128136 in a comprehensive listing of Little Free Libraries officially registered.
“We love books as a family and know how many use the greenway by our house, so we love being able to share that with the community,” she said, noting the couple’s two children, Cameron and Wesley, also have the same passion.
Cameron actually helped his dad set out a bench beside the Little Library itself — already lushly sheltered by a canopy of trees — creating a welcoming locale to curl up with a book or two.
“It really brings me joy to offer this,” she said. “There is nothing I love more than to see kids sitting down and reading.”
Although not the only such library in Farragut, Bengston had an outpouring of positive comments and donations when she announced the newest Little Free Library on social media.
Other neighborhoods have offered them, and The Rotary Club of Farragut has donated at least two in the community.
For more information about the program, visit http://littlefreelibrary.org. Bengston’s online literacy group can be found on Facebook by searching Shared Stories With Lisa B.
