My “quest” a year and a half in the making has landed at The News-Banner’s front door at long last.
But like with any successful quest, there is a team making the whole thing worthwhile every step of the way.
As of January 2022, The News-Banner’s Little Free Library is stocked and fully operational. You can find it right inside the front door. In fact, you can’t miss it. I can certify that you can even see it from the street as you turn the corner from Wabash to Johnson. It’s purposefully colorful and fun.
The top and the drawers are different colors while the sides are a light blue sky with white clouds — and the occasional newsprint cloud.
The back features bright stripes, which remind me of the “zebra” or Fruit Stripe gum of my childhood.
Regular readers of this space may recall a column I had in July 2020 about my drive around Wells as I put books in the Little Free Libraries scattered around the county. Working on that column planted a seed of an idea that I couldn’t shake: I wanted to put together our own Little Free Library.
Fast forward to September 2021, when I officially announced the endeavor. And then fast forward again to early January 2022 when I talked about the ongoing “renovation” work on an old filing cabinet.
I kept teasing an upcoming launch date in the paper and then I almost forgot to share the exciting news. You are hereby encouraged to come pick out a book or two or three the next time you are in downtown Bluffton.
The support so far has been nothing short of remarkable. Large donations of many books continue to come in, and I had a couple books gifted all the way from Pittsburgh just this week.
The cabinet’s bottom two drawers are nearly overflowing with children’s books, and I have enough plus some to fill the entire cabinet with books just for kids.
But to add a little variety, current non-fiction selections include some cookbooks, and there’s at least one classic piece of literature in the fiction section.
The international organization Little Free Library retweeted photos I shared online of the renovation progression, which connected me with a reporter in North Carolina who wanted to learn more about the Banner’s library. I hope others can see how successful the effort can be in small communities. And hopefully soon the library will appear on the organization’s world map online.
Our ultimate goal is to engage with our readers and the community at large in a fun way while promoting the importance of literacy in even our youngest citizens.
If you come just inside the door and want to peruse the options, please feel comfortable to do so. There are so many great gently used or even brand-new books to browse through with more to come soon.
So the next time you stop by to pick up your newspaper or are in the downtown area, grab your next book to take home too.
jessica@news-banner.com
