Photo Courtesy of The Furman Literacy Project Inc.
They may look like charming birdhouses at first glance, but those little painted boxes filled with books — often spotted in South Florida parks — are something far more meaningful. Called Little Free Libraries, they’re the brainchild of high school student Mason Furman, 17, and his brother, Jack, 20.
Mason co-founded The Furman Literacy Project Inc. in 2023 and now serves as its president. The North Miami teen was inspired to take action after noticing a troubling decline in literacy rates in his community. A volunteer since eighth grade at the nonprofit Achieve Miami — where elementary school and high school students are partnered for reading — he was discouraged by what he witnessed.
“The level of reading [in Miami-Dade County] of underserved elementary school kids is slowly getting worse,” says Mason, who attends NSU University School in Davie. “If a kid can’t pronounce a word, he doesn’t know how to read.”
As of July 1, The Furman Literacy Project has installed 10 Little Free Libraries in Hallandale, one in Miami-Dade and one at the Broward Juvenile Detention Center in Fort Lauderdale. At the detention center, an entire library, complete with bookshelves and books, has been created.
Jack, who is currently attending Washington University in St. Louis, remains involved from afar, Mason says.
“I maintain the Little Free Libraries, and he addresses all the emails. We’re actually trying to install one in St. Louis, too.”
Through grants and partnerships with Northeast Dade-Aventura Branch Library, Broward County Library, Broward County Public Schools and Nova Southeastern University (NSU), Mason has successfully built, stocked and maintained all the Little Free Libraries.
“They come as a box in one package, with the books in the other,” Mason points out. “I assemble them at home, then bring them to the cultural center in Hallandale — or once to the actual park in Miami-Dade — for installation in the ground.”
Each Little Free Library holds between 75 and 100 personally chosen books. “I have 35 boxes of books in a shed in my backyard and grab a few boxes when I go out to stock the libraries every two to three weeks,” Mason adds.
Children can take as many books as they want. The motto is, “Take a Book; Leave a Book,” Mason says. He hopes to add more Little Free Libraries through grants and says that helping people in this manner “warms his heart.”
For more information or to support The Furman Literacy Project Inc., call 786-812-0076 or email thefurmanliteracyprojectinc@gmail.com.