By PATRICIA KRAHNKE, guest columnist
The Brown County Literacy Coalition has installed four new Little Free Libraries in Brown County, thanks to generous funding from the Brown County Community Foundation and the hard work of Eagle Scout Logan Miller, who oversaw a team of Boy Scouts and adults in building the boxes.
Our Little Free Libraries Team, which includes Linda Todd, Jane Huffman and Rita Simon, were instrumental in securing our new locations: Helmsburg General Store, Small Town Market in Peoga, Knights Corner Trash Removal and Van Buren Elementary School.
These additions to the program make seven total Little Free Libraries in Brown County. The other locations include the Brown County IGA, Gatesville Store and Fruitdale Fire Department.
In 2018, the Brown County Literacy Coalition plans on purchasing and installing at least four more libraries in remote areas of the county.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]The Little Free Library program is a national nonprofit organization that fosters neighborhood book exchanges around the world. The program was established to inspire a love of reading, increase literacy in adults and children, build community and spark creativity.
Our little libraries serve everyone in Brown County. But for Brown County individuals and families who cannot travel to the public library because of transportation challenges, these libraries provide critical access to a constantly changing array of reading material.
The Brown County Literacy Coalition’s Book Distribution Team, led by Jonathan Bolte, makes sure these book boxes are always stocked with books appropriate for a variety of ages and interests.
Sharon Richey, owner of the Helmsburg General Store, says that when she and her husband, Leonard, decided to purchase the market, they already knew they wanted a “book box,” because they’d seen them in other communities. So when the Brown County Literacy Coalition approached them this summer about installing a little library, they immediately said yes.
“We were thrilled! And it’s doing very well. We see a lot of people taking books and then replacing them with books they’ve already read,” Sharon said.
The Brown County Literacy Coalition focuses most of its resources on early-childhood literacy, so we make sure that there are always books for kids in the libraries.
Why does book access matter? If a child is not reading at level proficiency by fourth grade, there is a 78 percent chance they will never catch up. In fact, half of children from low-income communities start first grade up to two years behind their peers. (Brizius, J. A., & Foster S. A. (1993), “Generation to Generation: Realizing the Promise of Family Literacy,” High/Scope Press.)
One of the most successful ways to improve the reading achievement of children is to increase their access to books, especially at home (McGill-Franzen & Allington, 2009). But according to the U.S. Department of Education, up to 61 percent of low-income families do not have any books for their children at home.
Other statistics further reveal the significance of improved reading ability at every stage of growth.
The Department of Justice states, “The link between academic failure and delinquency, violence, and crime is welded to reading failure.”
Eighty-five percent of all children who interact with the juvenile court system are functionally illiterate.
Ninety percent of welfare recipients are high school dropouts.
Three out of four food stamp recipients perform in the lowest two literacy levels.
As a community, we are called upon to lift each other up. The success of our individual citizens, no matter what age, equals the success of our community.
The literacy coalition believes that tackling the very real challenge of helping our children learn to communicate is critical to keeping our kids out of jail, reducing classroom behavioral issues, improving future employability, and preparing our youth to be successful in every aspect of their lives.
Communication skills — the ability to understand written instructions, printed and online forms, verbal directions, legal terminology, and so on — are the ultimate transferable skill set. In a world that shows no sign of slowing technical and global progress, and presents an ever-changing job market, we will fail our children and ourselves as teachers, employers, parents, and community government if we don’t make literacy a communitywide priority.
Along with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, our tutoring partnership with the Brown County school corporation and our elementary schools, and the Brown County Reads program, the Little Free Libraries provide yet another important opportunity for families to enjoy reading together and as individuals.
A great big thank-you goes out to the Brown County Community Foundation, Logan Miller, Linda Todd, Jane Huffman, Rita Simon, Jonathan Bolte, and the proprietors at our locations for helping us to grow this program.
We look forward to announcing new Little Free Libraries next year.
Patricia Krahnke is a past president of the Brown County Literacy Coalition board of directors.
