Change occurs constantly in the Cazenovia community, whether through the repaving of Route 20, the construction of new houses and businesses or the planting of new trees. One recent addition to Caz has probably been noticed by many but understood by few.

What, exactly, are the two wooden boxes in the village filled with books that say, “Little Free Library,” and how are they supposed to be used?

That, said Betsy Kennedy, director of the Cazenovia Public Library, is an excellent question.

“The idea behind this was that a literate community is always good and the library wants to encourage reading,” Kennedy said. “We know people have busy lives — sometimes the idea of borrowing a book from the library and getting it back on time can be daunting. Through the Little Free Library program there’s no rush, they can even keep the book and they are free to drop one off.”

The Little Free Library program was started in 2009 in Hudson, Wis., as a way to promote literacy and a love of books within a community. Little Free Libraries are book exchanges where anyone may take a book or return a book at no cost and with no obligations. People can also add books to the libraries that they want to donate or books they love so much they want to share with others. “They are about connecting with your neighbors and community,” according to littlefreelibrary.com. “They are ‘mini town squares’ where people can meet over a good book and get to know each other.”

The program has grown since 2009 from a small-town idea to become a national and international phenomenon with more than 20,000 Little Free Libraries across the globe.

For Cazenovia, the program started as a collaboration between the library and Cazenovia Children’s House, and was spearheaded by Kennedy and Penny Noll, former CCH director.

“As the former director of Cazenovia Children’s House, I was always looking for ways to promote literacy with children and families,” Noll said. “I had learned about Little Free Libraries in other communities around the world and I thought that Cazenovia would be a wonderful location to establish a free book exchange.”

Kennedy and Noll worked together and in 2014 applied for a Common Grounds Challenge Grant, from which they received $600 to establish a Little Free Library program in Cazenovia. The Friends of the Cazenovia Public Library then matched that $600 as its contribution to the project.

Cazenovia’s two Little Free Library satellite locations are in front of Kinney Drugs in Telephone Park and in front of Harris Cleaners on Albany Street. Those locations were chosen because they are both “places where people congregate” and are easily accessible to the community, Kennedy said. Each library is populated with books that were donated to the library or that the library has discarded from the collection, whether because they have multiple copies of that particular book or they just need to make room for new books, she said.

The library boxes were installed by Steve Burrell, Fred Harris and Alan Glos.

Each library can fit about 40 books inside, and there will always be a variety of books in each — books for all age groups, both genders, and of all genres of writing. Each book is stamped and stickered with the Little Free Library motto: “Always a gift, never for sale.”

But the libraries are not simply built, filled and then ignored, they must be constantly monitored, refilled and kept in good condition — which is where the stewards come in. Local residents Becky Sernett and Cynthia Cherny are the stewards for the two Little Free Libraries in Cazenovia, and it is their job to maintain the overall care of the libraries.

“I think in a way this is such a gift to the community,” Sernett said. “It’s another way for communities to make connections with one another … and to reach out to people who maybe feel they are not being reached out to.”

Sernett has been the steward for the Harris Cleaners library for one month, and often brings her daughter, Amanda Heacock, a Cazenovia sixth grader, with her to help. Together they keep track of what books have been taken or donated to the library and what types of books seems popular and useful, and write them down in the log. Already, people have been using the library, and some have even written their own entries in the log, Sernett said.

“It’s really quite a cool experience because it’s very unassuming — it’s a beautiful box with books inside; I don’t know if people even know what it is,” she said.

Cherney, who maintains the Kinney Drugs library, said she also finds the experience to be exhilarating. “I love going to the free libraries seeing how many books have been taken to be read … [and] what books have been left by others,” she said. “I have had a great love of books since a young child when my father would read most nights to my siblings and me. This is another way to give back to our community. I feel books are one of the most important things for everyone to have access to.”

The Little Free Library project so far has been successful in Cazenovia, and already there are plans and ideas to add more satellite libraries throughout the community.

Noll and Kennedy have applied successfully for a CORE Federal Credit Union grant to buy and establish a Little Free Library in Georgetown near The Mustard Seed this fall. They have also talked about finding someone to design and build a Little Free Library that looks like Lorenzo or the Gothic Cottage or another Cazenovia landmark, Noll said.

“I think it is important that Cazenovia demonstrates that our community values literacy and promotes a love of reading,” Noll said.

Cazenovia Rotary also has announced that it will be collaborating with the library and local youth to build one or two more Little Free Libraries around town in 2016, according to Rotary member Mimi Hall.

Sernett thinks this is a great idea. “I think it would just be awesome if we had book libraries all over the community — why just stop at two?” she said.