Lynnhaven Elementary School has joined the Little Free Library movement.
The small, outdoor stations provide an easy, free way for students to find new books and share their favorites with others. One of the little outposts opened in June through a partnership with Plaza Middle School’s International Baccalaureate Middle Years Program.
Middle school students, along with their program director, Catherine Susewind, built the structure outside the home of third-grade teacher Rachel Lugo, a little more than a block from the elementary school.
“We were really excited at the elementary level with books available right on the street,” said Lynn Hollandsworth, the assistant principal at Lynnhaven Elementary. “They can walk there, ride their bikes there. They don’t have to find someone to take them to a public library.”
There are more than 10 Little Free Libraries in the area, and more than 32,000 registered sites in the United States. The first one was created in 2009 in Wisconsin, when Todd Bol erected one resembling a one-room schoolhouse as a tribute to his mother, and put books inside.
Lynnhaven’s little library has books for students and the community. Hollandsworth said the first books were personal favorites of some of her students.
Lugo, the teacher whose yard hosts the little distribution center, enjoys hearing from its users.
“It’s kind of fulfilling when a student comes by me in the hallway and says, ‘Hey Ms. Lugo, I stopped by your house and got a book,’ ” she said.
To find a registered Little Free Library near you, visit littlefreelibrary.org/ourmap.
