Little Free Library installed behind Softies, four more coming to Dover
DOVER — A Little Free Library has a way of improving a neighborhood, according to Jim Gill, director of the Dover Public Library.
He said 92% of people say their neighborhood seems like a more friendly place because they have one. Among those who volunteer to maintain the boxes that facilitate book sharing, 72% say they have met more neighbors because their neighborhood has a Little Free Library, he said.
"They often become blessing boxes," Gill said. "You'll see toilet paper in there. You'll see canned goods in there. It's not just about literacy. It's about helping others with kind hearts.
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"That's the endgame here, literacy and kindness and happiness. The whole point is to get free lending libraries in communities across the world," Gill said Sunday at the dedication of Dover's newest Little Free Library, located behind Softies at 717 N. Wooster Ave.
Gill said the box, among some 125,000 of its kind on Earth, is the third for the Dover Public Library, and the first of five that will be installed in partnership with the Social Justice Alliance of Temple Israel in Canton.
Library Board Member Sarah Lehman said she had worked previously on a project with Temple Israel members to send blankets and coats to Guatemala after floods and mudslides hit the country last year. After that, the congregation's Social Justice Alliance came looking for their next project.
The project grew from the Jewish imperative to repair a broken world, according to Rabbi Emeritus John Spitzer of Temple Israel.
He said about 10 men from Temple Israel had previously built 130 desks for students to use at home.
The Little Free Libraries were a product of teamwork, too. Social Justice Alliance member Mark Atleson helped Spitzer with their construction. Temple Israel members supplied the books.
When another member of the community heard about the project, she bought five copies of the children's book "Justice Is...: A Guide for Young Truth Seekers," Spitzer said. Inside the book is a U.S. Supreme Court photo which includes Sonia Maria Sotomayor, a Hispanic Latina, and the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg, "one of our own," Spitzer said.
"It was a privilege for us to do this, it really was," the rabbi said. "It was not work."
The purpose of the Little Free Libraries is to encourage passersby to “take a book, leave a book.” It's also perfectly acceptable to take books without leaving replacements.
"Of course, these little libraries are meant for everyone, but we are also strategically placing them in areas in Dover where we know there are large populations of children and adults with English as their second language, and potentially don't have quick, easy access to the library," Lehman said.
The U.S. Census Bureau reports that 4.8% of Dover's population of 13,112 is Latino or Hispanic.
Lehman said one library box will be near the fairgrounds, in a neighborhood with a substantial population of Spanish-speaking immigrants.
"Studies have shown that getting books in the hands of kids, whatever way that is, will increase their love of reading, their chances of success in life," Gill said. "So we're excited about that, and our library being able to play a part of that as well.
"There's a literacy crisis in our country right now. There are 30 million adults who can't read above a third-grade level. And that's a staggering number in a country with so much wealth," he said.
Spitzer and Atleson said the five library boxes were built from repurposed materials, except for the hinges and clear acrylic fronts. They came to Dover primed and sealed.
"They are just beautifully built, so sturdy ... just such a labor of love and compassion," Lehman said.
"We had local artists, wonderful artists, who did the decoration," Spitzer said. "We were so thrilled to see the results of what you've done."
Sherrel Rieger, adult programming specialist at the Dover library, said the decoration by Dover High School student Ana Baca Gomez captured her favorite things about Guatemalan culture: the clothing, the colors, the smiles on the faces of the people and their warm hearts.
The design took first place among five winners selected in a contest run by Liz Strauss, teen librarian at Dover Public Library.
Strauss said the teen's painting conveyed the importance of community and reading.
The Little Free Library movement started in 2009, when Todd Bol of Hudson, Wis. built a model of a one-room schoolhouse as a tribute to his mother, according to the nonprofit's website. She was a teacher who loved to read. He filled it with books and put it on a post in his front yard. His neighbors and friends loved it, so he built several more and gave them away.
Reach Nancy at 330-364-8402 or nancy.molnar@timesreporter.com.
On Twitter: @nmolnarTR
This article originally appeared on The Times-Reporter: Dover library and Canton Jewish group cooperate to create free library
