Inspired by the traditional Manitoba ice fishing shack, the Little Red Library combines the idea of a simple 8’ x 8’ shanty with that of a fantastical transparent cube, creating an immersive sensory environment. Its is constructed of red vinyl-filmed tempered glass mounted on a tubular steel frame. The luminous interior features a simple bookcase. Like the books it houses, the Little Red Library seeks to provoke thought and arouse the imagination.

 

Originally conceived as part of the 2015 Warming Huts Art and Architecture Exhibition On Ice, the library was installed on the frozen Assiniboine River. The following spring it was moved and transformed into the Little Red Art Gallery adjacent to Crescentwood’s Peanut Park. It won a Prairie Design Award of Merit for Small Projects that year. Thereafter, the Little Red Library found a new home at Hugo Park on Wellington Crescent, where it has become a beloved community amenity.

 

Little Free Library is an international movement that promotes stewardship and active community involvement by engaging the public in reading and literacy in their neighbourhood. The Little Free Library program operates on a “take a book, return a book” principle and has over 200,000 libraries in 128 countries on all 7 continents.

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