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Author: Emerson Garfield

Little Free Libraries

Little Free Libraries

Have you seen this story about Little Free Libraries on KREM (video below)?


The basic idea behind it is this: A small, sheltered bookshelf — a bit like an oversized birdhouse — next to the sidewalk outside your home functions as a mini lending library. It’s filled with a tiny portion of the books you might otherwise take to, say, Booktraders on Garland. Passersby are free to borrow the books inside and, ideally, return them when finished. Or leave some books of their own in exchange.

One example of a little free library.

From a practical standpoint, yes, it does open itself up to theft and vandalism. But these secondhand books wouldn’t be worth much to any book buyer, and besides, anything placed near any public right of way (e.g., flowers, planters, fences, mailboxes) is a potential vandalism target. It’s also worth considering that neighborhoods in disregard and disrepair tend to foster more vandalism than well-kept ones.

The fact that this has already been implemented in a few places in Spokane also shows that it’s neither impossible nor impractical.

Emerson-Garfield in particular has plenty of streets named after American presidents and local historical figures, but very little that commemorates our national and regional writers. We haven’t even had a neighborhood library branch since 1967. Wouldn’t it be great to fill this gap by making books — especially those by lesser-known Spokane writers like Vachel Lindsay and Bruce Holbert — available to everyone on a much more personal and grassroots level?

In other words, it’s worth considering the idea of little lending libraries for a neighborhood-wide initiative. If it’s something you might like to participate in (or even spearhead!), please contact us.

More on Little Free Libraries, which has found support across America, is here.

Neighborhood Council Meeting Tomorrow

Neighborhood Council Meeting Tomorrow

The Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Council meets tomorrow (June 13) at the Corbin Senior Center [map] at 7pm.

What’s on the agenda for June? Among other things, we’re going to talk about this website and other grassroots communication efforts like Twitter and Facebook, issues with our parks and streets, and recap what happened at the Corbin Park Yard Sale last weekend as well as last night’s town hall meeting.

We’ll also hear from the ad hoc parks subcommittee and vote on how to allocate $21,000 in park funds. Repair cracks in Corbin’s tennis courts? Build a swing set in Emerson? Show up and become a voting member to have a say!

You can download the full agenda here as a PDF.

Also remember that the neighborhood planning meeting will take place one hour before the start of the EGNC meeting (i.e., at 6pm) in the same building.

The planning meeting has a hefty agenda of its own. We’ll be addressing how to use the demographic data provided by EWU, the results of our ongoing surveys, the October issues/solutions workshop (this will be a big event, so stay tuned), and shifting the planning meeting dates to avoid conflicts with EGNC meeting times.

That agenda is available for download here as a PDF.

Corbin Park Yard Sale Tomorrow

Corbin Park Yard Sale Tomorrow

The annual Corbin Park neighborhood yard sale takes place tomorrow, June 9, from 9am to 4pm, rain or shine — and with a bit of luck, there might be just enough shine amid all this wet weather.

The sale is huge and spans ten(!) blocks between Division and Post [map] in Emerson-Garfield. Homes on Waverly Place, Park Place, Cleveland, and Euclid will be selling antiques, collectibles, baby items, books, electronics, kitchenware, linen, glassware, tools, arts and crafts, CDs and DVDs, furniture, kids’ clothes and toys, and lots, lots more.

It’s one of Spokane’s biggest — if not the biggest — yard sale events.

Town Hall Meeting on June 11

Town Hall Meeting on June 11

There’s a town hall meeting on Monday, June 11 at 6pm at the West Central Community Center.

The town hall is an annual meeting where Spokane’s neighborhood councils present reports of their past and future activities to the city council and the mayor. It’s open to the general public and is televised.

Liorah Wichser, chair of the Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Council, will be making the slideshow presentation on behalf of the neighborhood. It’s an opportunity to voice our concerns and also to tell the city council what we’ve achieved over the past year and what we plan to do in the the coming year.

We’d obviously like Emerson-Garfield to have as much representation as possible, so please stop by. The meeting is only scheduled to last about 90 minutes. In addition to offering a show of support for your neighborhood, it will also give you a chance to catch up on what Emerson-Garfield’s priorities were in 2011-12 and what they will be into 2013 and beyond.

You’ll also be able to see what other Spokane neighborhoods have been up to, and whether their activity can serve as inspiration or a template for what we envision in our own neighborhood.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Hillyard Revitalization on “Council Connection”

Hillyard Revitalization on “Council Connection”

If you’re interested in what North Monroe Revitalization might hold in store for you as well as the wider neighborhood, tune in to Council Connection tonight (June 6) at 6pm on CityCable 5.

Council Member Mike Fagan of District 1 will host the program. He’s going to be joined by several members of the Historic Hillyard Merchants Committee (representing Outlaw Café, Market Street Antiques & Collectibles, Tread Tech, and more) for a discussion of the Hillyard Downtown Revitalization Project in terms of both the challenges of execution and its success after completion.

The group won’t just be talking among themselves, either. They’ll be fielding calls from viewers during the hour-long program.

The business owners will also take time to discuss the Hillyard Mobile Network, a grassroots marketing effort that entices shoppers to their area with special deals and discounts. Now that it’s been pioneered elsewhere in Spokane, it’s something that N. Monroe business owners might like to consider.

More info about tonight’s Council Connection program is available here.

And remember that you don’t have to content yourself with watching local cable programs — you personally can help shape the course of the North Monroe Revitalization Project. Get in touch by filling out the contact form on this page (select “Other” as the subject).