AURORA | Love thy shelf.
That veiled profession of literary love is what employees of Aurora’s Library Services Division have aimed to make a reality at recreation centers across the city this summer.
Earlier last month, members of the Aurora Public Library’s outreach and programming team decorated and installed three refurbished bookshelves meant to serve as “mini libraries” at the city’s Meadowood, Moorhead and Expo Recreation Centers. The bookshelves were created in an effort to expand the Little Free Library program the city’s Library Services Division launched last summer, intended to bolster the availability of free books in Aurora.
“We just wanted to get more books out into the community,” said Sara Van Cleve, an assistant with the library’s outreach and programming crew. “And especially for kids living in parts of the city that aren’t as close to a library and for kids who don’t get the chance to go to the library very often, we wanted to make sure they can still have access to books on a regular basis.”
The new tiny tome homes house between 50 and 70 books at any given time, according to Van Cleve, and are intended to operate on a take-a-book, leave-a-book system. They’re currently placed near waiting areas outside of rec center classrooms so that parents and siblings can peruse pages while waiting for kids to finish up daily activities.
“We’ve been coordinating with the Parks, Recreation and Open Space Department on putting them at sites where they will be best used,” said Megan Ellis, programming and outreach coordinator for Aurora Public Libraries.
All of the books stored at the rec centers were donated by the Friends of the Aurora Public Library.
Both Ellis and Van Cleve said that the decision to add more literary sanctuaries stemmed from the popularity and success of the first four mini libraries the city installed in public parks last September. Currently, there are little free libraries in Utah Park, Carson Park, Larkspur Park and at the Morrison Nature Center at Star K Ranch.
“They’ve been exceedingly well received,” Ellis said. “It’s been very gratifying to see how much the community appreciates the books.”
Ellis added that though her team has had to periodically restock a couple of the libraries, they have been largely self-sustaining. And despite reports of a little free library being set on fire in Denver earlier last month, Ellis said there have been no indications that Aurora’s free book boxes have endured any vandalism.
Going forward, Ellis said there may soon be additional mini free libraries at both Tierra Park and Red Tail Hawk Park as a result of service projects started by local teens pursuing a Gold Award with the Girl Scouts of America and an Eagle Scout certification with the Boy Scouts of America.
There are about 25,000 little libraries in more than 70 countries, according to littlefreelibrary.org. The website reported that more than 35 million books worldwide have changed hands through the program.
For information on how to build or register your own little free library, visit littlefreelibrary.org/getinvovled.
education is a wonderful thing and reading is critical
Great idea! “They’re currently placed near waiting areas outside of rec center classrooms so that parents and siblings can peruse pages while waiting for kids to finish up daily activities.” While I was waiting for my granddaughter, most parents and siblings are playing games on their tablets or phones.