Building More Than Libraries: Meet Robert, the Volunteer Behind the Brentwood Bay CCRR Little Free Library
By Paige Martin
Set into a bed of garden stones outside Beacon’s Brentwood Bay CCRR, the new Little Free Library is built to withstand coastal wind, rain, and time. Beautifully painted and warmly inviting, it welcomes readers of all ages.
This library is the fourteenth Little Free Library built by Robert Duquette, a longtime volunteer at the SHOAL Centre. Each one is different, shaped by its location, the people it serves, and the many hands that help bring it to life. For Robert, woodworking is not only about the craft. It is a way of creating spaces that bring people together and serve the community.
From Learning by Doing to Giving Back
Woodworking has been part of Robert’s life for decades.
After moving to Victoria at 23, Robert worked as a marketing representative for Canada’s largest nylon producer. In 1972, when he and his wife built their home in Gordon Head, he asked the builder if he could be involved in the construction. Lucky for us at Beacon Community Services, that experience marked the beginning of a skill he continued to develop through hands-on work over the years.
Nearly forty years ago, Robert began building closet organizers and cedar planters as a side business. Over time, woodworking became a reliable skill, one he would later bring into his volunteer work, sharing knowledge and building projects for the benefit of the wider community.
Finding SHOAL and Building Community
Robert’s connection to the SHOAL Centre began after a long period of recovery. Following nearly six years in hospital and seven major spinal surgeries, he moved into Wakefield Manor, an affordable senior building managed by Beacon
In 2016, shortly after settling in, Robert noticed signs advertising an upcoming SHOAL Open House. He asked about attending and was welcomed right away. At the time, he was navigating mobility changes and used mobility aids. Within a few years, he began helping in the SHOAL workshop, first alongside shop coordinator Don Wilson and later with Jim Wood.
When Jim stepped aside, Robert was asked to take on leadership of the shop. Drawing on decades of relationships in the business community, he reached out to longtime suppliers and secured over $35,000 worth of donated machines and tools for Beacon’s wood workshop. During that time, SHOAL’s workshop membership grew from 17 members to nearly 60, creating a collaborative space rooted in camaraderie and a shared purpose.
The Little Free Libraries
Robert began building Little Free Libraries four years ago after connecting with the Saanich Peninsula Literacy Society. As a writer and member of the Beacon community, he immediately recognized the value of making books accessible within neighbourhoods.
Over the following years, he built and installed nine libraries for the Society, working alongside other SHOAL members who supported the projects through painting, finishing, and installation. When Nadia Ellis, Manager of the Child Care Resource & Referral Centre, contacted Robert about building a library for Beacon’s CCRR on Salt Spring Island, he readily agreed. She reached out again more recently to request a second library for our Brentwood Bay location.
Building the CCRR Brentwood Bay Library
The CCRR Brentwood Bay library followed the same careful process as any major woodworking project. Robert visited the site to assess spacing, ground conditions, and accessibility, ensuring it would serve both children and adults.
Material selection was critical. Designed to withstand wind, rain, and freezing temperatures, every piece was milled individually and waterproofed multiple times. The build took six weeks. Unlike many previous libraries, this one required a more complex installation, standing on twelve legs set nearly 30 inches into the ground. Each leg sits inside a PVC tube to prevent rot, while the end planter boxes are weighted with garden stone to ensure stability.
Community Support and Shared Responsibility
Robert is quick to credit others, but the scope of his work speaks for itself. Through decades‑long relationships with local suppliers, he regularly secures donated materials through the wood workshop that make each Little Free Library possible. Because of that effort, every library is built at no cost to the organizations and communities it serves.
What drives Robert is not just the act of building, but the purpose behind it. He understands that reading is most powerful when it is close, familiar, and easy to reach. By placing libraries directly within neighbourhoods, he helps make books part of everyday life for seniors, children, and others who may face barriers to accessing traditional libraries.
He approaches each project with care and intention, encouraging community members to respect the library, follow the “take a book, give a book” principle, and share books that are clean, current, and appropriate. At Beacon’s CCRR in Brentwood Bay, donations are reviewed by staff before being added, ensuring the collection remains welcoming and relevant.
Fourteen libraries in, Robert continues to volunteer his time, skills, and leadership. For him, the Little Free Libraries are another way of giving something back, and he hopes his involvement might inspire others, especially seniors, to step into their communities through volunteering. In offering time and care, he believes people not only support one another, but also stay active, connected, and engaged. For more information on volunteering with Beacon, Click Here.
A special thank you to the individuals, businesses, and organizations who supported Robert alongside this project.
Karen Holland and Liz Miller generously shared their time and skills to help with painting and staining.
We are also grateful to the following businesses for donating materials and supplies: