Little Free Libraries in the form of miniature houses stocked with books and mounted outside Longview elementary schools are helping students hone reading skills during summer vacation and beyond.
Little Free Libraries in the form of miniature houses stocked with books and mounted outside Longview elementary schools are helping students hone reading skills during summer vacation and beyond.
With the July 31, 2017 dedication of the Little Free Library at the Head Start Main campus at Lower Columbia College, the Rotary Club of Longview, Washington has provided or stocked Little Free Libraries at all elementary schools in the Longview School District, as well as the Broadway Learning Center.
Nine-year-old Evelyn Ofstun, a 4th grade student at Northlake Elementary School, uses the Little Library regularly. “I like it because I don’t have to return the book in a week like the regular library; you can return it whenever you want or you can keep it!”
The take-a-book, leave-a-book project started in 2016 when the city’s first Little Free Library at Robert Gray Elementary School sparked Rotary’s drive to equip other Longview public schools with easily accessible book boxes posted near school entrances.
The Rotary Club of Longview then stepped in to provide Little Libraries for the other six elementary schools, as well as the Broadway Learning Center and the Head Start/Early Childhood Education and Early Assistance Program at the LCC campus.
Rotary is also providing books to fill and restock all 10 Little Libraries. A Rotary District 5020 Community Grant, as well as private donations, help fund the $7,500 project.
Everyone benefits from reading, the Rotary Literacy Committee says.
“We believe having books readily available encourages reading which in turn makes for better readers,” committee chair Sarah Koss explained. “It is critically important to have books accessible to students 24/7. Many studies have shown that children who are reading at grade level in third grade have a much higher success rate throughout the rest of their academic career.”
Strong reading skills are essential for academic success, landing jobs and boosting quality of life.
Dan Zorn, superintendent of Longview schools, strongly supports the reading partnership with the Longview Rotary Club. He is a member of the 122-member Rotary Club that backs a variety of projects to better the community.
“We believe that teaching our students to read is the most important thing we do,” Zorn said. “Our literacy partnership with the Rotary Club is incredibly beneficial as we seek to get books into the hands of our students -- particularly those who might not come from literacy-rich environments.”
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