After the first Little Free Library was dedicated at the entrance to Friendship Park last June, organizers promised to place more around the community.
Two more Little Free Libraries have popped up at Columbia Primary School and Columbia Elementary School and more are planned, sponsored in part by the Junior Auxiliary of Columbia. JA and the Columbia-Marion County Library partnered to begin the project, according to Danielle Whittington, who is both a fourth-grade teacher at CES and an officer in JA.
Whittington explained the club’s work on Little Free Libraries.
“Ryda Worthy from the library suggested the idea,” she said. “It’s a national thing for these Little Free Libraries. We wanted to take it and expand it. We have a local individual who is making six Little Free Libraries for us and we’re seeking out organizations and places to put them.”
Whittington said the Little Free Libraries at the schools help play into a program designed to promote literacy in communities.
“This first started as an initiative of the library and it is a national organization that puts these libraries all over towns and counties,” she said. “We chose to put at the two schools because we’re working hard to try to improve literacy for Marion County. You’re going to see that with the Excel By 5 initiative that we’ve got going on. You’re going to see the schools push really hard for the accelerated reading programs. We want to make sure that these children in this area, where you’re going to get a lot of foot traffic in downtown, are going to be able to have books at their will.”
JA funded the Little Free Libraries, but Whittington said the books come from a variety of sources.
“They’ll come from churches, community members and anyone who takes a book and leaves a book,” she said.
CES Principal Robbie White said he appreciated the effort.
“Anything we can do to get books in the hands of families is great, “he said. “We want to encourage them to read and cultivate a love of reading at home. We think once a kid falls in love with reading and likes to read, there’s no stopping them. Literacy is our focus here and we want to cultivate a love for reading in all of our children and the earlier we do that, the better. I’m thankful to JA for providing this Little Free Library.”
CPS Principal Heather Singley agreed.
“It encourages reading for our students on all levels,” she said. “It’s a nice addition and we’re very fortunate that we have Junior Auxiliary in our town to give back to the schools. It’s full of books now and the kids are very excited to see what’s in there. I’ve already seen some switching out of books. It’s a nice addition to the school day.”
Pictured Above: Members of Danielle Whittington’s fourth grade home room pose with Columbia Elementary School Principal Robbie White in front of the school’s Little Free Library. Pictured are Laila Holloway, Raelyn McKenzie, Logan Bourne, McKenzie Graves, Cayden Pope, Fareheasha Jordan, Tra Lewis, Ava Schepemaker, Jessica Walker, Ayden Oxner, Ta’Lik Walker, Ezra Hurst, Chase McCain and Charles Virgil. Above, books are shown in the Little Free Library. | Photo by Mark Rogers
