SPREADING READING:
Scientist puts up his 45th Free Little Library; he even has one in Antarctica
Three-year-old Ellis Miller’s excitement couldn’t be contained.
He bounced from foot to foot, with a smile in his eyes as he watched the Little Free Library was installed in his front yard.
At the helm of the project was atmospheric scientist Russ Schnell, who helped maneuver the hand-crafted box with a shingled roof and red trim onto its base at 1014 Rose St. in Longmont.
The Little Free Library marks the 45th library Schnell has created. Since 2012, Schnell, who works for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, has been helping to spread the joy of reading across the globe. His Little Free Libraries can be found on five continents, including Antarctica. Schnell’s creations are part of the Little Free Library nonprofit organization, which seeks to encourage community around reading and making books accessible for all.
As someone who grew up with access to few books, Schnell understands the importance of having books to pick from.
Schnell recalls having one book with pictures in it as a child — a book about a boy and his train that Schnell still has. It wasn’t until he was a 19-year-old college student when he would have a broader access to books.
Schnell was born in 1944 in an isolated community in rural Alberta called Castor — appoximately 200 miles from any city. As a child, he had access to two other books, and both were forms of the Bible. Other forms of literature, he said, were considered “superfluous” by his Protestant community.
“I had never been to the movies or a dance or anything like that,” Schnell said. “If I had any books with pictures in them, I would have been ecstatic. Once I started seeing more books later on, it was amazing. I think kids should have as many books as they possibly can, and they should be free.”
The first Little Free Library Schnell created was for his daughter, Alicia, in 2012. He said his daughter was living in a poor community in St. Louis.
“She saw that the kids never had access to books, so she had me build a library to put in her front yard,” Schnell said. “The kids just loved it.”
When he was growing up in Castor, Schnell’s small community required children to learn a “productive hobby.” For Schnell, it was woodworking, a trade passed down from his greatgrandfather, grandfather and father.
It’s this skill, and some of the 1900-era tools honed by his grandfather, that Schnell has been using to create the libraries by hand. Schnell noted that his son, Ryan, is also a woodworker.
To create the libraries, Schnell scavenges hardware stores for broken or curved wood with a low price tag and searches Resource Recycling in Boulder for used materials.
“Every library is different,” Schnell said. “I start with just a door that I get from someone’s house cabinet. That sets the size and shape.”
Across the globe, from Alberta to the base of Mount Fuji in Japan and the ice of the South Pole in Antarctica, Schnell’s handcrafted Little Free Libraries can be found. The Antarctica location marks the first Little Free Library to be placed on that continent. Schnell had it placed near a NOAA building, where, in a place that sees six months of darkness every year, it has been a source of conversation and entertainment among his colleagues.
Schnell has an extensive scientific background. He has degrees in chemistry, biology, climatology and agricultural climatology and a doctorate in atmospheric sciences earned from the University of Wyoming. In 2007, he was among a group of scientists working with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize.
As an atmospheric scientist, Schnell’s work has allowed him to travel the world. It’s a part of his work he has relished as someone who grew up isolated and unexposed to new cultures.
So far Schnell has visited 92 countries. Often tucked among his suitcases are the makings of a Little Free Library.
As a parent, Schnell made sure his son and daughter had access to a vast selection of reading materials, which he said grew to be nearly 1,000 books.
“I think (books) let children think beyond their peer group and household,” he said.” Children are so influenced by what other kids say and do, you’re kind of stunted. If you can get a book and see how … (for example) most people live much poorer than we do in the U.S. — it broadens you.”
There are still two continents Schnell has not yet placed Little Free Libraries on: South America and Africa, but he expects to get some there in the years to come.
The library Schnell installed Jan. 16 was the third he has created for Longmont. He also has made 17 for Boulder and has libraries in Gunbarrel, Lafayette, Westminster, Erie, Niwot, Denver, a rural retreat in Alberta and an art gallery in Australia, to name a few locations.
As Schnell and family friend and fellow scientist Mark Lareau secured the library to its foundation, Ellis could hardly wait to use it. His mom, Sabrena Miller, said her son’s love of reading is insatiable, even though he hasn’t learned to read yet.
His grandmother Kathy Sievering added: “He probably goes through five books a day eagerly.”
Ellis proudly asserted that among his favorite books is series about a tiger named Daniel, called “Daniel Tiger.”
Ellis’ grandfather Herman Sievering used to work with Schnell at NOAA. One day when Kathy Sievering saw Schnell crafting a library, he offered to make one for her.
With the access to the Longmont Public Library limited because of the pandemic, Miller said it will be an especially important way to connect Ellis and their entire Longmont neighborhood with more books.
“This was just another potential option of us sharing (books),” Miller said.