How Sheboygan’s Bookworm Gardens will use a $10K national grant to make diverse stories more accessible
SHEBOYGAN – Bookworms Gardens will host a free event to celebrate receiving a national grant Sept. 9.
With the “Read in Color” $10,000 grant for in-kind support, the organization will add Little Free Libraries stocked with diverse books across Sheboygan.
Here's what to know about the program and launch party.
What is the 'Read in Color' program?
The Read in Color program is part of the Little Free Library organization. It aims to share books showcasing diverse experiences and stories, covering topics like racism and social justice and celebrating BIPOC and LGBTQ+ voices.
Bookworm Gardens is one of three organizations part of the Read in Color fall cohort. The other organizations are 904Ward in Jacksonville, Florida, and Education Foundation of Baltimore County Public Schools in Baltimore.
The program launched in Minneapolis after the murder of George Floyd and mobilization for change in summer 2020. Read In Color since expanded to 13 cities.
Are books, and diverse books, inaccessible in Sheboygan?
Some inaccessibility to books exists in the city, according to Unite for Literacy, a literacy advocacy organization.
Unite for Literacy classified much of the Sheboygan area as a “book desert.” This means the majority of households in the city have a lower-than-average access rate to books, according to its 100-book per household standard for reading proficiency, a figure cited from several studies.
Percentages of households with more than 100 books range from 10% to 50% across the city, according to the Unite for Literacy “Global Book Desert Map.”
Additionally, fewer than half of children’s books depict non-white characters, according to recent data from the Cooperative Children’s Book Center out of University of Wisconsin-Madison's School of Education.
39% of about 3,450 books received by CCBC in 2022 had at least one BIPOC primary character, and 46% of the books had "significant" BIPOC content.
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What will Bookworm Gardens do in the program?
Bookworm Gardens, in coordination with several community groups, will add 10 Little Libraries in the area with stories of diverse identities and voices.
Library plantings could be done by early September. New libraries will be planted at Hello Happiness Creativity Center, 1504 New Jersey Ave., and Above and Beyond Children’s Museum, 902 N. Eighth St.
Nourish Farms in Sheboygan Falls will add diverse books to its library and the Black-American Community Outreach will bring a library on posts to its events, according to Dana Elmzen, director of marketing and communications at Bookworm Gardens.
Elmzen said Bookworm Gardens is also pursuing local funding opportunities to expand the program.
What are some books that will be added?
A few books that will be in the libraries include Isabel Quintero’s “My Papi Has a Motorcycle,” Patricia’s Polacco’s “The Keeping Quilt” and Rebekah Taussig’s “Sitting Pretty: The View from My Ordinary Resilient Disabled Body.”
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When and where is the launch party?
The launch party will be at Bookworm Gardens, 1415 Campus Drive, from 9 a.m. to noon Sept. 9.
What is planned for the event?
The launch party will have art-making and book giveaways, Paradigm Coffee and Music and The Thai Express food trucks, and bilingual story times.
There will also be a ribbon-cutting and a reading by local author Charm Der, who will read her book “My Happiness Counts.”
Contact Alex Garner at 224-374-2332 or agarner@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @alexx_garner.
This article originally appeared on Sheboygan Press: Bookworm Gardens in Sheboygan receives national Read In Color grant
