Free Little Libraries provide books over holiday break
Special to the Leader-Press
Five-year-old Naomi Williams drags a plastic tub of books to the back of her mom’s car. She waits for help to load it knowing she is not strong enough to do it herself. This is routine for the kindergartener who stocks Copperas Cove’s Free Little Libraries every month and more often if needed.
Copperas Cove Five Hills Junior Ambassador Naomi Williams began stocking the libraries created from recycled newspaper bins a year ago. She maintains the Free Little Libraries at all CCISD pre-K, elementary and junior high schools as well as the City of Copperas Cove’s two swimming pools during the summer season. Her favorite book is Clifford, the Big Red Dog.
“I put more books in each of the Little Libraries every month and also straighten books that are still in there so it looks nice,” Williams said. “It is important to make sure that kids always have books to read to help them learn all year long.”
Williams has ensured that all Free Little Libraries are packed with interesting, age-appropriate books with the long Thanksgiving holiday ahead where CCISD students are out of school for a week and do not have access to their school libraries.
“I learned that books are heavy and that sharing books with others is something kind to do, and that Copperas Cove has a lot of schools,” the kindergartener said. “It’s fun going to all the schools to fill up the libraries. Sometimes, I even find a book I want to read myself because I am learning to read in kindergarten, you know. Maybe these book can help other kids learn to read too.”
The Free Little Libraries are available to students 24 hours a day, seven days a week at no cost. The goal of the program is for children to take books to read, return them for others to enjoy and take more books themselves to enjoy, Danielle Williams, Naomi’s mother said.
“Naomi has learned that people love books just as much as she does,” Danielle Williams said. “Whenever we go to fill the Little libraries, if the bin is half empty, she is always surprised that so many books have been taken to read.”
One of the challenges with the project is that the majority of books are not returned, resulting in the Williams family always collecting books for the Free Little libraries. Donations of children’s books may be dropped off at the CCISD Service and Training Center, 408 S. Main St., or email fivehillspageant@gmail.com for large donation to be picked up. Or, donors can place age-appropriate books in any Free Little Library at any CCISD school.