By Steve Sears

For 17-year-old Livingston High School senior, Benjamin Gantman, all it took was a stroll to instill the idea in his mind.

“I came up with the idea to install free libraries in Livingston when I visited my cousins in South Orange,” Gantman says. “We went on a walk through their neighborhood and passed by many bookcases in public parks and in front of houses. During that trip, I was able to take a book home for free and thought it would be great if I could do the same thing where I live in Livingston.” Also, there’s his love for reading. “I read everyday before bed, and it has been a habit for me since elementary school. I just recently finished and thoroughly enjoyed The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, which I actually got from one of our bookcases.”

Gantman decided to devote his time to this project because he wanted to make a contribution to the community in Livingston. He explains in detail why. “I think a lot of benefits can come from a project like this, because it has the potential to bring people closer together by enabling them to share books with each other,” he says. “Additionally, from what I have seen, most people could spend a little more time reading.”

Thus far, Gantman and his friend and partner in the project, Noah Kates, have set up three bookcases (aka free libraries): one near Riker Hill Elementary School, another on the walking path on the Oval next to the Livingston Library, and one at the West Essex Tribune office next to the Shoprite parking lot. They aren’t done. “We also have plans to install three more in Littell People’s Park, the Senior Community Center, and Northland Park, with one bookcase already sponsored by Deputy Mayor Michael Vieira,” Gantman says.

The duo decided on the locations based on where they had permission to place a library, the amount of foot-traffic in those specific areas, and the locations of other libraries. Gantman says, “We try to find areas that the most people will walk through and are able to conveniently access the bookcases. We also try to spread the libraries apart so they are not concentrated in one area of Livingston.” In addition to the mind work, there’s the physical as well. “To set the bookcases up, we dig a 2-foot hole, plant a wooden post, and mount the library on top with screws and supportive braces. Also, the rocky soil here in Livingston makes it very time consuming to dig our post holes. In fact, the last hole took over two hours to dig because of large rocks and concrete that was in the way.” Then there’s the fact that Gantman and Kates had been building their own bookcases. ”The first bookcase I built took several months to finish because I didn’t have as much experience, and I was building it from scratch. This is advantageous in terms of price and it allows us to make bigger, custom bookcases. However, it is very effort and time-consuming, so we have recently shifted to buying models online. We still paint these bookcases, but it allows us to work more efficiently and install more libraries.” Gantman, who plans to study engineering in college, has tried to incorporate some engineering and design principles that he’s learned in school. “We have installed solar powered lighting inside the libraries that turns on at night, and 3D print signs with the name of our organization.”

According to Gantman, the community response has been very positive for his and Kates’ project. “I have received many messages on Facebook and from neighbors saying that they enjoy having access to these bookcases,” Gantman states. “Even while working on installing them, people walking by have stopped and told me that they liked the idea. Ultimately, I want to get more students involved in the program so that when we leave LHS, the libraries will continue to get maintained and the project will continue to grow.”

The community can help by continuing to donate and, perhaps most importantly, by taking books from the bookcases and making the locations active libraries. Gantman adds, “We are also looking for people or local businesses to sponsor a bookcase to place in a public park. If anyone is interested or has any questions about the program, they can contact me at communitylibraries2@gmail.com.”