LINCOLNVILLE BEACH—Anyone familiar with A Little Free Library, a free book exchange in the form of a glass-enclosed box where people can take or leave books, can now find a Little Free Toy Library at Lincolnville Beach, courtesy of the Lincolnville Improvement Association.

“I saw a picture of a toy library on Facebook that another town had done years ago and it stuck in my mind,” said Christine Leary, a member of LIA. “I happened to be working on the Heart & Soul Project [a community study on what people think matters most in Lincolnville] and one of the kids wrote that he or she wanted to see more toys at the beach. Life told me that this needed to happen.”

Leary said LIA wrote a proposal, took it to the Select Board, which approved the project. Leary said the Little Free Toy Library was custom-constructed and hand-built by carpenter Will Hardy, a brother of one of LIA’s members. It officially launched in mid-July.

The project, completely funded by the LIA, started off with donated toys.

The library has been well-loved this summer with a lot of the original toys and donated kids’ sunscreen now gone, but others, mostly sandbox toys, replaced.

“It’s a work in progress,” she said. “We’re hoping the community will kick in with more donations; just drop off a small toy in good condition that would otherwise go to a donation center or a landfill,” she said.

The toy library is located behind the Porta Potty shelter on the beachside. The Little Free Library for books is on the other side of the shelter facing the parking lot.

If anyone wishes to get in touch with the Lincolnville Improvement Association for more information or donations, visit their Facebook page.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com