Free Libraries in York Maine
Ella knows firsthand that reading and books positively impact
children and can inspire them to become involved in their communities,
help them academically, develop their personalities, and encourage
them to think more deeply and creatively. Books impacted, and continue
to impact, her life, and Ella knew she wanted other children to have
the same affinity and positive experience with books as she did.
Ella researched reading rates among children and adults and
discovered that since 2004 the number of Americans who read for
pleasure has decreased by 30% and that a Pew Study indicated that 24%
of adults hadn’t read a book in whole or in part in over a year.
Through her research, Ella also discovered that book-sharing programs
can be a catalyst for improving reading motivation and deepening
community connectedness. Knowing all of this, Ella connected with the
York Public Library and the library director and discovered that
declining reading rates in her community was a real issue with fewer
people using and frequenting the library.
For her Gold
Award project, Ella teamed up with the York Parks and Recreation
Department as well as the York Rotary Club to promote reading and
start a Free Library initiative. Ella worked with both groups to
strategically select six locations for free libraries. Both Ella and
her community partners wanted the libraries to be placed in areas
where kids and families frequented, most locations were selected based
on localities of after school and summer recreation programs. Ella
determined that the locations for the free libraries would be
successful because through her research she knew that increased access
to books is the key to literacy and instilling a joy of reading. Since
many of the chosen library locations were on public and town-owned
land, Ella had to present and pitch her project concept to multiple
agencies including the York Town Selectmen, the Code Enforcement
Officer, the York Parks and Recreation Department, the York Library
Board of Directors, the School District Superintendent, school
principals, and the York Community Service Association Executive and
Board of Directors.
Pitching her project concept was a
critical step in Ella’s project as it not only gave approval for the
placement of her libraries, but it raised awareness of the issue and
educated and inspired others about Ella’s project. The largest goal
Ella had set for her project was to increase reading rates in the town
of York. Each of her libraries house 15-20 books, so she measured the
flow of books in and out of each of the libraries. This was achieved
by finding and coordinating with a volunteer steward for each library.
Each steward has agreed to maintain the Little Free Library.
Additionally, Ella reached out to York’s Girl Scout and Boy Scout
troops to make them aware that providing and rotating books through
one of the Free Little Library locations is a great service
project.
One of the challenges Ella faced with her
project was town bureaucracy but was able to overcome it through her
project presentations. Ella says that “I learned that I am very
persistent and that I can have a much bigger impact on my community
than I thought. I want to get more books in the hands of kids to share
my joy of reading.”
