Little Library unveiled at Kingston Elementary

Blake Vickers, Richmond Register, Ky.
·2 min read

Dec. 26—Blake Vickers

On Dec. 9, Kingston Elementary School unveiled a special new addition to the school — a "Peanuts"-themed Little Library available for the school and community to use.

"Any opportunity that I get free books, I give them to kids to take home. When school isn't open, that's another way that they can get books," Kingston Family Resource Director Angie Daniels said of the inspiration behind the little library project.

The library is especially personal for Daniels, as the carpenter for the project was her father, Ed Hatmaker. Hatmaker also volunteers for Carpenters for Christ in Harlan, KY.

"My sister and I always give him many projects to work on," Daniels said with a laugh. "A few months ago, I found online a Little Library that looked like Snoopy's doghouse. I showed a picture of it to my dad and he made it happen."

The Little Library is located beside Kingston's Blessing Box and will operate in a similar fashion. Food is donated to the Blessing Box, while books are donated to the Little Library.

The Blessing Box began as a way to assist some of the students at Kingston from more rural areas.

"We go all the way to the Rockcastle County, Jackson County, and Estill County lines. We have some families that live 20 miles from Kingston. If they needed to go to a food bank it would be hard for them to go to Berea or Richmond to do that," said Daniels. "That's how the Blessing Box originated. It has been self-sustainable. Many people that use it, also donate to it. It's been a blessing to many people in the community."

Daniels said the Little Library has been a big hit with students at the school, with some already bringing new books back to put into it.

"We have some students that are able to go to the grocery store and get any food items that they want. We have families that are able to go to libraries or book stores. But then we have some families that don't have those opportunities. If we can give them a small part of that opportunity where they can come to school and do that, that's helping them meet their needs and puts them on a level playing field," Daniels said.