Retrieved from littlefreelibrary.org
How can we foster reading cultures in school?
Today is day two of my thirty day yoga challenge. Every day we are given a new word to focus on and today was community. When I asked myself this question the
first thing that came to mind is how can we create a reading community within
our school. A community where staff, teachers, students and administrators work
together in accomplishing and fostering a reading culture within the school and school community. I
read an article awhile back for one of my courses and this article was title,
Little Free Libraries. I believe little free
libraries (LFL) represent a grassroots up swelling of support for the ethos of
library as an intellectual commons for the open exchange of ideas and the
fostering of community. They represent the idea of coming together as a community as well as fostering a love for leisure reading.
Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5TJH5hmRE8
“They are popping up in front of houses, apartments,
parks and other public spaces across the country. Since 2009, these handcrafted
book boxes, which hold between 20 and 100 books, have multiplies, amounting to
as many as 4,000 libraries across the world. And they’re helping
neighbourhoods bolster community spirit and cohesion” (Cardwell, 2014). I
thought why not take this idea to my school community and work with different
grades in designing our own LFL out front of our school. Who knows, maybe the
word will get out and we can help create LFL within our community surrounding
our school.
“This non-profit organization helps inspire a love of reading,
building community, and sparks creativity by fostering neighbourhood book
exchanges around the world” (littlefreelibrary.org).
I decided to do a little research as I have seen a couple LFL
when I’ve been traveling but I have yet to see any in Kelowna. I found out we
have one location in West Kelowna and she has a Facebook account to help advertise her
location. I was shocked at how little we actually have in the area. Looking at
B.C I found four locations which were easy to find online but I would like to
think there are more. There are however a few coffee shops and air bnb’s that
offer a book exchange similar to LFL, with the idea if you take a book you
leave a book.
Overall I feel this is an amazing movement, which definitely
build a greater sense of community. Being open 24-7, no due dates or library
cards, and providing easy access to reading materials its no wonder this movement
took off (Snow, 2015). This movement also helps promote the idea of reading for fun.
Once students discover that reading can be
pleasurable they are on their way to success. Words are more important than
they ever were; we navigate the world with words, and as the world slips onto
the web, we need to follow, to communicate and comprehend what we are reading
(Gaiman, 2013). We as teacher librarians need to help promote reading and one
of the easiest ways to do this is to help find books that they enjoy. “I don’t
think there is such a thing as a bad book for children” (Gaiman, 2013). I love this quote as I truly stand by it. It
shouldn’t matter what genre, author, or length as long as children are reading
they are learning. Every child is different and it is our job to help foster
the love of reading in every child. Anything that they enjoy reading will move
them up into literacy (Gaiman, 2013). Gaiman reminds us that libraries are
about freedom, freedom to read, freedom of ideas, freedom of communication
(2013). With the lack of LFL within Kelowna I’m curious if I
could use my library ecosystem to help initiate this movement within my area. My first step will be introducing this idea with my school community. From here I plan on reaching out to my local public libraries, school district, businesses,
non-profits and community. Who knows where the journey will take me. I'll I know is I'm excited to try!
Caldwell, M. (2014). Little free libraries. Contexts, 13(2),
4-4. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/stable/43872891
Gaiman,
N. (2013, October 15). Why our future depends on libraries, reading an
daydreaming. The Guardian. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/oct/15/neil-gaiman-future-libraries-reading-daydreaming?CMP=twt_gu
LtlFreeLibrary. (2019, August 29). Little Free Library. Retrieved from https://littlefreelibrary.org/
Snow, M. (2015). Little
Free Libraries: A Call for Research into the Tiny Book Depositories. Children & Libraries: The
Journal of the Association for Library Service to Children, 13(4), 30–32.
Stripling, B. (2014). Our
Library Ecosystem is Under Threat (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external
site.). Huffington Post.
Todd Bol. (2013). The start of little free library. TedxFargo. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5TJH5hmRE8
I love the little libraries movement! Where I used to live in New West, there were about 5 within walking distance of our place. We live in Chilliwack now and there is one just around the corner from us in a park. I didn't realize that it was an actual organization! In New West, the little libraries were always on the edge of people's yards by the sidewalk, so it was easy for passersby to browse or drop off books. In Chilliwack, our library is in our local park. I have seen first-hand the reading culture this fosters! Every single time we are there, we read. Kids take a break from playing to read with their parents and then go back. There are always new books and I see anyone from toddlers to teenagers looking to see what is new. Just this past weekend I took a great picture of my son reading a Winnie the Pooh book and my husband reading the Batman Forever novelization they both found in our little library. I would post it if I could figure it out! It is such a great idea to use this program in schools!
ReplyDeleteWould you have the library inside the school or outside for public access outside of school/library hours? I wonder if there would be any confusion with parents or students using it as a book return by accident. I still love this idea, especially including the wider community!
Yeah this movement really excites me! I love the idea of having a library in a public park. The whole idea of this movement is to help motivate reading and create a connectives within your community. A public park would honestly be the most ideal area as you have people from all ages ad backgrounds enjoying a space that caters to reading. I live close to a park and I tend to walk down with my blanket and read a book.
DeleteAs for my vision within my school I was hoping to have a little library just of the school boundary as to get no confusion with books from the school. This allows for students and families within the area the ability to have access to books. Our school is from a lower socio economic area where most don't have books in their homes.
I watched a youtube video where an area in texas made it their mission to have little free libraries all of their 33 elementary schools. They even had the wood shop students from high school get involved in building the libraries. It made a whole community come together, very inspirational. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDDc_KrMnxk
The little free libraries movement is a truly inspiring one that provides excellent reading motivation and opportunity in our very local community neighbourhoods. Typically there is a small collection in these inviting little book repositories, and hopefully something for everyone that would come by. Discussion about getting the right book, at the right level in the right hands is an important point to discuss and a gap in these models, but overall, any attempt to get more books out into the community is useful. A good job embedding a youtube video right into your post. One aspect to work on next time is to start adding Labels onto your posts for easy organization and retrieval. Overall, a good little exploration into a fun reading movement!
ReplyDeleteWe have a few of those Little Libraries in the Comox Valley. One is delightfully set up in a microwave shelter! The ethos of this movement is delightful! I love that books are freely available and the fact that they are often displayed in fairy-house-style shelters adds to the rich and magical imaginative component of reading and throwing oneself into the new world in a book! I think the main problem with these is that the selections aren't rotating enough, nor are they updated regularly enough. I long to see well-loved classics beside new and exciting options and these little boxies sometimes fall short. All that being said, they are beautiful and this initiative is imbued with positivity and community-mindedness, which I want to celebrate and support!
ReplyDeleteHi Kaitlin,
ReplyDeleteI posted last week, but something went sideways. I live in Kelowna and there is a "little free library" on our street. It has the sticker and adorable little look. I have taken a look a few times and it seems to me like it is older books in there. I would love to see it have people's real favourites. You have inspired me to think harder about how I could possibly adopt some sort of free little lending library though in the hallways. I'm going to have to ponder on this. Thank you for the thought provoking post.