Adding Guam to the Little Free Library map
Part of living on Guam is finding all the ways Guam doesn't exist to other people. In this instance, I saw Guam on the Little Free Library map online and found one in Mangilao based on the zip code.
Now that we've started another Little Free Library on Guam (it's in Harmon!), we can add it to the official map.
But, interestingly, the Little Free Library's drop-down menu did not include Guam as a country. This makes sense. Guam isn't its own country. When I selected “USA” as the country, Guam wasn't listed as one of the states. This also makes sense. Guam is not a state. And yet, there I was bewildered.
(There's definitely a colonization/decolonization conversation to be drawn from this single interaction.)
I know Guam exists because I am physically here. "Guam" was not an option on the Little Free Library (LFL) drop-down menus but neighboring islands of Palau, Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia were. While the map embedded on the Little Free Library website clearly showed Guam in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, it was not an option as a location in the menu. The map on the LFL website is powered by Google. Google is well-aware of Guam's existence. They even sent folks to ride around the island with those fancy cameras attached to the cars to capture images for its Street View feature.
I am sure there is nothing malicious behind not having Guam as a designated territory, state or country on the LFL map website. But this type of stuff, looking for Guam in a space and not finding it, or it being overlooked or excluded, is par for the course.
I'm reminded about the time the former Attorney General of Guam issued a press release about Target finally being able to ship things to Guam as a U.S. location.
It literally made the news. The Attorney General of Guam, at one point, worked on this during her tenure. And then the office wrote a press release, put on the official AG letterhead and sent it to newsrooms. As news. And I, as a reporter at the time, wrote about it.
Anyway, seeing a discrepancy in the LFL official map, I sent an email to LFL about adding Guam to the map and they replied with positive news:
The good folks of Littel Free Library have since updated their website!1
Nonetheless, the salvaged-yellow-fridge-turned-Little Free Library is now on the official LFL map!
If you search "Harmon" as a city, you'll find it. That's cool.
You know what else is cool? There's a Little Free Library in Pohnpei. A search of "Micronesia" turned up two LFLs: one on Guam and one in Pohnpei. The LFL on Guam is the one in Mangilao that I went searching for and didn't find. I suspect the steward ran into the same issue I did when putting it on the map and I can see why they selected FSM as the country. Guam is in Micronesia but Guam isn't technically part of the Federated States of Micronesia. FSM is its own country.
(Again, there is a colonization/decolonization/identity/geography conversation that could be drawn from this.)
I also searched other U.S. territories that were included in the LFL map menu and was pleased to find a few Little Free Libraries in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
I visited the Harmon Hemlani's Apartment office this morning to check on the LFL and I saw that it is still there but the office was closed :( So I don't know the status of the books just yet.2 I'll have to check another time.
Thank you for reading. Write to you again soon.
Cheers,
Jasmine
This post was updated May 27, 2021 to reflect the LFL map now includes Guam. The original post published on May 26, 2021 noted the change had not been made just yet.
Do you think the kids are like "Yuck, books, who reads physical books anymore old lady?" Or do they think it's cool????? Nevermind me, I'm just ruminating.
Great job 👏 ❤️