Birdhouses for Books~ Zane T.

Hi there from the genetically altered Flying Drake (a flying snake that has wings like a dragonfly and is about the shape of a tapeworm-yet to be created). We are back in action, unraveled and enlightened, spintastic, chairtastic, rose bush mindful, mentally prepped and not that focused. Our team has lost a member, and gained a new purpose. We now seek to create Little Free Libraries for the betterment of our community, and possibly others as well. (As the name implies, Little Free Libraries offer an easy, free, and convenient way to get new reading material. You take a book to read and replace it with ones you think others in your area should read.)
We’re still organizing things, but we have a pretty good idea of our design and the basic schedule for the rest of the year. Most of the time will be focused on actually making the things (provided we get the money to buy all the supplies (which is more expensive then I’d thought and we only have about sixty bucks left over from our budget. But we might ask some higher ups for more…)) which I have dubbed birdhouses for books, and construction will hopefully go smoothly.
I’m mostly worried about how much help I’ll be, since I have a slight aversion to power tools. I was kind of counting on doing it the old fashioned way, with nails and hammers and arms, but apparently you need screws, and those require drills which are usually automated and scary. And saws, by the gods, power saws make me nervous. They’re all spinny and loud and deadly and there is such a possibility to get limbs and appendages sawed off that I almost want to do it myself just to get it over with.

Our plan is to build one that’s mostly a box with a slanted top, with two doors in front instead of one to offset the weight it would be if it were longer. There was a bit of an issue about whether we needed to make a frame or not, but it was eventually decided that, as it is really just a sturdy birdhouse, there was no need for a frame (and we looked at other peeps building plans and no one bothered with a frame). We’ll just have to seal and weatherproof it really well.

We also have some ideas as to the types of books that can go in them (assuming we make multiple) and we might donate some of our own books to the cause. Another member of our Birdhouses For Books group has some ideas about the outside design and artsy stuff, too. I want Ghibli on everything, but that might not work for the classics or children’s books or Spanish section…
It is really nice to stop having to look at spines and spine terminology though. I was getting sick and tired of contemplating the flaws and trouble points in our Vertabend project.(There was no way to properly get measurements or tests the effectiveness without super-expensive-and-hard-to-work-equipment!). Researching was getting tiresome too. I wonder if our buddy who left is ever sick of researching though…(she went to a different team, but kept her role as researcher).
But that’s besides the point. The new point is to build the birdhouses, make instructions or videos to show others how, plant the birdhouses (and hope they don’t get burned, vandalized, stolen from, or otherwise destroyed and/or violated), and pass the class.