Reciprocal linking is risky therefore it is not advisable if you can still find the free web directory. Please note that these free web directories do not actually want to work for free. They are building hard to provide relevancy to the search engine and increase their link popularity. Therefore, someday, these freebies might become quality web directories.
Valid Ways To Increase Your Link Popularity
Link Popularity is one way to build traffic into your website. The idea is initiated by Google cofounder noting that if one website A points to another website B, this implies that website A is endorsing B on its own website. Therefore, the better a website is, the more links pointing to that particular site.