Sangamon Elementary hopes to encourage kindergarten through third grade students to read throughout the summer months as they provide books in the Little Free Library located at the front of the building.
Librarian Amy Webb came across the Little Free Library concept two years ago. She held onto the idea, thinking one of her daughters may need a project for Girl Scouts. Once both girls secured other projects, Webb decided to pursue the library for Sangamon Elementary.
The first Little Free Library was established by Todd Bol in Hudson, WI in 2009. He built a model of a one room schoolhouse, filled it with books and put in his front yard for neighbors to use. The schoolhouse was built in honor of his mother, a former teacher who loved to read.
The Little Free Library board now estimates nearly 15,000 libraries have been established worldwide.
As Webb scoured the Little Free Library website for ideas on how to establish an accessible, weatherproof library, she decided to ask the News Gazette for a used newspaper box to re-purpose. She stripped, sanded and repainted the box. The locking hardware was also removed.
Webb has sorted through donations and book sales to provide reading material in the library. The library is now open seven days a week. Webb added a solar light on the box for night use.
“I thought it would work well here,” she said. “If people are walking around the neighborhood, they can stop by and see what’s in there.”
Community members are invited to take a book, and then return the same or another age-appropriate book into the box. Webb said children are also encouraged to share books between friends.
When Principal Mark Cabutti released information about the Little Free Library through School Reach, he immediately heard back from a parent who said her son wanted to be the first child to “check-out” a book.
Webb will continue to work with the Mahomet-Seymour School District to access the viability of the Little Free Library throughout the school year.
