Rotary club will open Little Free Library

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

The Rotary Club of Youngstown announces the grand opening of the Little Free Library, a community share literacy project, at 1 p.m. Wednesday at the Central YMCA, 17 N. Champion St., second floor. Light refreshments will be served.

The Youngstown Rotary and community partners plan to build and install 34 Little Free Libraries in the Mahoning Valley. The location at the YMCA is the first of seven confirmed locations.

Partners with the Rotary club are Ace Lumber, City of Youngstown Parks and Recreation Department, Students Motivated by the Arts, the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County and the Central YMCA.

Little Free Libraries have become a community movement across the country and throughout the world. They offer free books housed in small containers to members of the community.

As of January, there are more than 15,000 Little Free Libraries worldwide.

The libraries are “take a book, return a book” gathering places where neighbors share their favorite literature and stories. They are a way to give free books to children, strengthen literacy among adults and provide a canvas for public art in neighborhoods. The basic principle is to make the world a better place.

This project is in conjunction with the Rotary Club of Youngstown’s 100th anniversary celebration this year. Plans are to organize and donate Little Free Libraries throughout the community, focusing on areas that don’t have libraries, such as parks, public buildings, businesses and not-for-profit organizations.

The location of every Little Free Library can be found at www.littlefreelibrary.org. If you would like to join in this community-share project, call Elayne Bozick at 330-360-3799 or email her at emsbozick@gmail.com.