You can find neighbours sharing books through Little Libraries in almost every neighbourhood. While the intentions of these libraries are good, they often lack books by Black, Indigenous, and 2SLGBTQIA+ authors.  

Dinah Murdoch has been working to change this with a Kitchener chapter of the Little Free Diverse Libraries project started by Sarah Kamya, a public school guidance counsellor from New York City.   

Dinah was inspired to start a chapter when conversations around Black Lives Matter and the need to increase anti-racism education were growing. 

“I wanted to take action. Inspired by Sarah, I wanted to help get books by diverse authors into our little libraries, too,” said Dinah. 

The first libraries were donated by Dinah’s neighbours, Juanita Metzger and Trent Bauman who had helped neighbours build little libraries in the past. 

“They told me they had ten little libraries sitting in storage, and if we wanted them, they were ours.” Dinah said. 

The LoveMyHood Matching Grant helped expand the KW Little Free Diverse Libraries project into ten more neighbourhoods in Ward 8.  

Books for the Libraries’ come from donors big and small; donations have come from individuals and publishers. 

“That's been one of the beautiful things—I come home to a book sitting on my porch or  people make donations to buy books. We do a Pride Month fundraiser every year in June where people donate Pride-themed books.” said Dinah. 

Thanks to the kindness of the community, KW Little Free Diverse Libraries are making sure everyone can find books that reflect different voices and experiences.