Retired Teacher's Free Library Network Now Spans 500 Cities

When Margaret Liu retired from teaching in 2019, she built a small wooden box in her front garden and filled it with books. 'Take a book, leave a book,' read the hand-painted sign. Seven years later, her organization Books Without Borders has established over 12,000 free library stations across 500 cities in 42 countries. Each station is built by local volunteers using Margaret's open-source designs and stocked through community book drives. 'Reading changed my life when I was a girl in a village with no library,' Margaret said from her home in Portland, Oregon. 'Every child deserves that chance.' The network has distributed an estimated 8 million books, and last month partnered with UNESCO to expand into refugee camps. Studies show literacy rates have measurably improved in communities where the libraries operate.