Named for its owner and founder, Jon Mapou, Liberei Mapou has been a cultural cornerstone of Little Haiti. The bookstore was opened in the early 1990s in order to provide books, newspapers, and other reading materials for the Haitian community. Now it serves as a library as well a gathering place. Mapou also hosts a program on WLRN 91.3 on Friday evenings and teaches French and Kreyol classes at the bookstore.