When the initiative started this time last year, Lilliput Libraries founder Ruth Arnison expected considerably fewer Lilliputs would be dotted about the city by now.
"I only planned on having 10. And then I kind of got scared when they were being built, because I thought I wouldn’t be able to find 10 people to take them."
The 73rd Lilliput Library was opened at 7 Montpellier St, just before Christmas, and Mrs Arnison was delighted with the growing success of the project.
Some of the early libraries were built by prisoners at the Otago Corrections Facility and Cargill Enterprises, but the majority have been built by volunteers at the Taieri Blokes’ Shed.
Lilliput Libraries operate on a trust and exchange system.
People give books to stock the libraries and a local "guardian" volunteers to have the library on their fence line, keep an eye on it and make sure the library is full.
Any member of the public is welcome to take — and keep — a book from any of the Lilliputs, although Mrs Arnison encouraged people to give back to the libraries when they got a chance.She put the rapid expansion of the project down to Dunedin residents’ love of reading.
"We are a Unesco City of Literature. To get that status, it means there must be a lot of support for reading in Dunedin.
"It may also be because it’s free. There’s very little for free these days and people are making the most of the opportunity."
The libraries had also been decorated by local artists, and each one had been given its own "wee quirky" nature, making them unique landmarks.
"It’s not like we’ve got 70 out there and they’re all the same. Everyone has got the character of the artist in it."
Mrs Arnison said the project had grown much bigger than she had ever expected. There will be more than 100 in Dunedin by early next year.
She said the initiative had expanded to other areas of Otago, including Queenstown and Balclutha, and it was also starting to take off in other parts of New Zealand.
"I’ve sent one to Wellington, and I’ve had people from Auckland and Christchurch asking how to set it up.
"So I just sent them my plans and told them it’s up to you, because I don’t really want to provide them for people outside of Dunedin."
Mrs Arnison said she initially started the project because she thought it would be a good way to get people to read more books.
"But it turns out, it’s not all about the books. Books are just a part of it. It’s actually about community.
"The whole [point] of it is you get neighbours talking to neighbours. You get someone who’s got a Lilliput Library and someone in the street has a reason to talk to them about it. It’s totally about creating a community.
"When people know each other, they look after each other."
Diane Smith was a case in point. She established her Lilliput Library at 71 Newington Ave earlier this year, not just because she loves reading, but because it was "a nice community-minded thing to do".
"I read about Lilliput Libraries in the paper and I thought it sounded like a nice idea.
"It was part of a desire to bring my community closer together."
