MADEIRA BEACH, Fla. — Across the country, there are thousands of Little Free Libraries.
The libraries provide community members with free books to take, or they can bring their own.
With the help of volunteers, Judithanne McLauchlan has reopened the one in front of her home.
Hurricane Helene destroyed the previous one.
“We’ve been living in the house, but not until this library came back have I felt like, ‘Oh, it’s like we’re back home again,’” she said.
McLauchlan doesn’t know where she would be without the help of the volunteers who helped with both her home and library.
One of those volunteers is John Foss.
After seeing the condition of his friend’s home after the hurricane, he said his family wanted to help.
“We go to the same church, he said. “We’ve been friends for 20 years. Got to help friends.”
McLauchlan said it’s been a long journey, but surrounded by many of the people who helped get her here, she couldn’t be happier.
“To me, the heart of the community is our little library and a place for neighbors to get to know neighbors,” she said.