PUBLISHED OCT. 13, 2016
Little Free Libraries are beyond conventional
By PHYLLIS HODGES
Photo by Bill Hodges
Children from the after-school program at the Wimauma Civic Center gathered around “The Book Man,” Clif Oldham, who was filling a Little Free Library. They all left with books suitable for their grade level. Oldham said the “take a book; leave a book” premise doesn’t work well there. He has never had a book returned, which he theorizes means the kids keep them for themselves or pass them along to others. “That’s okay,” he said. “It means they care about reading.”
When you envision a library, you see rows of books just begging to be read by avid readers. The children of Wimauma are being exposed to something different, however.
Little Free Library (LFL) is an international program that places small (30-by-30 inches or so) building-shaped structures in high-traffic areas. Volunteers fill them with books to be taken and returned or a book left in its place. Wimauma has two such “libraries,” one at the Wimauma Civic Center and one at Bethune Park where elementary school children participate in after-school programs.
Wimauma’s LFLs operate under the auspices of The Hope Fund, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to helping Wimauma school children learn, grow and have fun in a safe, nurturing environment. Currently 110 volunteers—many from Sun City Center—provide the children with one-on-one mentoring, tutoring and reading.
The LFLs are a recent addition to Hope’s programs. Last year, SCC resident Nan Dorsey, who volunteers there with her husband, learned about the program up north from her daughter who has two LFLs for refugees. She thought it was great and wanted to start a program in this area. When the SCC Library passed on the idea, she approached Hope Fund President and Coordinator Carla Miles about incorporating LFLs into their programs. When the response was positive, Dorsey asked the SCC Sawdust Engineers to make the “giant birdhouses” as Miles calls them. Dorsey also was instrumental in getting the support of the SCC Woman’s Club, where she is a member. The club paid the start-up expenses (registration, etc.) and held a book drive that resulted in about 400 new and gently used books to kick-start the program.
SCC resident Clif Oldham was at that time serving as the Hope Librarian and already spending several days a week organizing books in their reading rooms and reading to the children. He volunteered to collect the books, store them in his garage, sort them by grade level and fill the structures.
Oldham’s smile is broad and warm when he reports that the premise of “take a book; leave a book,” doesn’t really work for these children who have little to call their own. He said he has never had a book returned, “but that’s okay.” “We are delighted that the kids care enough to keep them or pass them on to other children,” he said.
About Oldham, Miles said, “Clif always goes the extra mile! He is a great guy and always very enthusiastic; sometimes you can find him on the floor playing with his [a] child.”
The Hope LFL program also got a big boost in the beginning from a book drive held by the Florida Medical Clinic Foundation of Caring. Employees donated about 800 books to the program. Foundation Executive Director Angela Pottinger said that the program fits well with their mission to get involved in the communities where they have offices. She said the success of the first program certainly bodes well for a second book drive in the future.
The Little Free Library movement began in 2009 when Todd Bol of Hudson, Wis., built a model of a one-room schoolhouse. It was a tribute to his mother; she was a teacher who loved to read. He filled it with books and put it on a post in his front yard with a sign reading “FREE BOOKS.” The rest is history, with that small gesture growing into the international movement it is today.
The mission of the Little Free Library program, according to its website (littlefreelibrary.org) is to “promote literacy and the love of reading by building free book exchanges worldwide and to build a sense of community as we share skills, creativity and wisdom across generations.” Their stated goal: To build 2,510 Little Free Libraries—as many as Andrew Carnegie—and keep going. That goal came from Andrew Carnegie’s support of 2,509 free public libraries around the turn of the 19th to 20th century. They reached the 2,510 goal in August 2012 and in June this year had over 40,000 registered LFLs throughout the world.
To donate children’s books to the program, call Clif Oldham at 813-633-8132. To learn more about The Hope Fund, visit the-hope-fund.org, call Carla Miles at 813-634-4268 or Debbie Schnock at 813-634-1247.