The Little Free Library (LFL) nonprofit organization is pleased to present John Manuel Newland of Athens, Ga. with the 2023 Todd H. Bol Award for Outstanding Achievement. This award honors extraordinary individuals who embody LFL’s mission to build community, inspire readers and expand book access for all.

“It is a privilege to recognize John as one of this year’s winners of the Todd H. Bol Award for Outstanding Achievement,” said LFL Executive Director Greig Metzger. “His volunteer efforts exemplify the vision of the late founder of Little Free Library, Todd Bol, to engage communities and enrich lives through the power of shared books.”

Newland builds Little Free Library book-sharing boxes for his community – including local schools – using materials he sources from the community. He takes a “never give up” approach to his projects.

“For me, apart from the satisfaction of building a product that I can be proud of and knowing I am helping my community, it has been interesting to understand that if you want to do something, you might just have to make it happen.... I had plenty of help, but there were so many times I could have just said, ‘Well, looks like it’s not going to work out,’ and left it at that.”

The Todd H. Bol Awards for Outstanding Achievement are named for LFL’s founder, Todd Bol, who created the first Little Free Library book-sharing box in 2009 in Hudson, Wisconsin, and passed away unexpectedly in 2018. This is the fifth year the awards have been presented.