Little Green Shelf

About Huntsville Public Library's Little Green Shelf

The Huntsville Public Library has launched its Little Green Shelf (LGS) marketing outreach program! The library’s vision statement is “Transforming Lives, Enriching Families, and Building Community.” Since we cannot be everywhere in the community at once, our hope is that the LGS initiative will help us reach community members who are unaware of the many free services Huntsville Public Library offers. The library receives hundreds of generous donations each year and we want to share them with others. Many of these donated items are not needed in our collection but might be of interest to many people in Huntsville. This is where Little Green Shelf and our community partners come in! The library will deliver a bundle of gently used books to any interested organization. Each book has a band around the cover as well as a bookmark inside to identify the book as part of the library’s LGS program. These labels also let customers know they are allowed to read the book at the organization’s location or take them home at no cost. The books need not be returned to the library nor to the Little Green Shelf from which they came . Each label has a QR code, which customers can scan with their smartphones. The QR code takes them to a quick survey on the library’s web page that helps us gauge the community’s interaction with Little Green Shelves in Huntsville.

 The participating organizations are recognized as well. On the inside cover of each book, the library places a label that reads, “This book was originally found on Huntsville Public Library’s Little Green Shelf at ________________,” with the organization’s name handwritten in the space. If the organization prefers to provide a stamp or pre-printed label bearing the organization’s logo, we invite them to do so. As Huntsville community members take these books home and pass them along to their friends and family, each business will be recognized for its participation in the program.

 We also encourage participation on social media to promote the Little Green Shelf program, as well as the businesses that participate. The page that the QR codes direct the customer to also contains links to our social media pages where they can post a photo of themselves with the book or selecting the book at the organization’s location with the hashtag #LittleGreenShelf. The privacy of customers is important. No personal data or information about community members is collected or published by the library.

As for the shelf itself, it can be as simple or elaborate as the organization’s needs dictate. Whether a small table with bookends or a single shelf, almost anything can work as a Little Green Shelf. The library is more than happy to provide two bookends and a sign explaining the program. Every month, a library staff member resupplies each LGS with more books. If a location’s supply runs low, they can also call the library to ask for more.

By adding Little Green Shelves throughout the community and engaging in social media marketing, we hope to associate the Huntsville Public Library with a positive, forward-thinking movement to reduce, reuse, and recycle. We believe in our vision statement and strive to reach out to members of our community who may not be aware of library resources, services, and programs.

  Please let the Huntsville Public Library know if your organization would like to become a community partner in our Little Green Shelf initiative. You can reach us by phone at (936) 291-5485 or by email at jsabo@huntsvilletx.gov.