About 2,000 feet southwest of Quintessence Park along Jay Yogeshwar Trail sits a little library and bench where people can rest, soak in the sun, grab a book to read, or even take some vegetable seeds to plant in their garden. Anyone taking a book, seeds, or in some locations, canned goods, are not required to replenish the little library with new items but are encouraged to do so when they can.
According to the littlefreelibrary.org FAQs page, “A Little Free Library is a free book-sharing box where anyone may take a book or share a book. They function on the honor system. You do not need to share a book in order to take one. If you take a book or two from a little library, try to bring some to share at that same library, or another in your area, when you can.”
When searching for state statutes regarding seed and canned goods sharing, nothing was found saying such actions are prohibited. The New Mexico Seed Law says seeds must be labeled truthfully regarding their identification, purity, and viability but there are otherwise no prohibitions against publicly sharing seeds. It is, however, unlawful to sell and distribute noxious weed seeds such as Buffelgrass, Hydrilla, Chicory, Poison hemlock, Purple starthistle and other species as specified by the New Mexico Department of Agriculture.
At around 6:30 Wednesday evening chard, sweet corn, garden bean, cayenne pepper and cucumber seed packets could be found at the little library next to Jay Yogeshwar Trail. Some of the books available included “Two Little Girls in Blue” by Mary Higgins Clark, “The Black Stallion’s Courage” by Walter Farley, and “The Powerpuff Girls Scary Princess” by E.S. Mooney.
Anyone interested in setting up their own little library can start by visiting littlefreelibrary.org/abq. The site provides contact information, links to an online store and DIY library kits, and offers background on the City of Albuquerque’s partnership with Little Free Library.
