In the front yard of Ironton resident Lois Terkhorn’s house on Kevin Street stands “Bobcat Books,” a registered Little Free Library open to anyone who wants to take a book.

The Little Free Library concept of providing free books, to either be returned or replaced, began in 2009 in Wisconsin and has grown each year. It became a nonprofit in 2012 and by last month, there were estimated to be more than 36,000 registered Free Little Libraries worldwide. Terkhorn, who retired from teaching first grade at Burlington Elementary School and tutors a couple days a week at Ironton Elementary School, said she first found out about the Little Free Libraries from reading about them.

“I love to read and have a very large collection of books,” she said. “I had read about the Little Free Library program and decided that I wanted one of the libraries so I could share some of my books with other people. My middle son and nephew installed it in December.”

Terkhorn’s Little Free Library is Amish-made and has two shelves. After receiving it, she painted it and added shingles to the roof. The name “Bobcat Books” came from her graduating from Ohio University, she said.

“There’s a note on it to ether replace or return the books that are taken,” she said. “So when you put things in, they might not always come back. But it gets people to read more and spreads learning.”

Terkhorn said her library consists mostly of children’s books, although there are a few other options.

Terkhorn’s Little Free Library is also the only one registered in Lawrence County, and one of a handful in the Tri-State, adding to four in Huntington and one in Ashland.

For more information on Little Free Library, visit www.littlefreelibrary.org.