November 10, 2023 |
Photo – Friends of the Encampment Library from left to right: Sue Webb, Dawn Bailey, Dawna Martin, Nancy Lynch, and Phyllis Smith.- Courtesy Friends of the Encampment Library
The Encampment Riverside Library has installed an outdoor cabinet to provide free books.
On November 2nd, the Friends of the Encampment Riverside Branch Library announced the opening of a Little Free Library between Harmony Park and The Red Wagon, in Encampment.
A Little Free Library is a small wooden box containing donated books. A person can simply take a book to read from the box. That person can choose to return the book or replace it with a book of their own. The process relies on the honor system.
Encampment Riverside Library Manager Dawna Martin, who asked not to have her voice used on the radio, said the Carbon County Friends of the Library offered to reimburse her for the purchase of the wooden book kiosk. Martin said she and the other Friends of the Library members bought a Little Free Library Box over the internet.
Martin said the wooden kiosk will contain donated books suitable for all age groups.
The library manager said the available books have been set aside specifically to be used in the Little Free Library. Martin said hikers and other short-term visitors to Encampment can take a book without having to worry about returning it.
Last Thursday’s unveiling of the Little Free Library in Encampment is the latest in a global movement to provide people with no cost reading material. The First Little Free Library was built in 2009 by Hudson, Wisconsin, resident Todd Bol. According to the Little Free Library website, over the past 14 years, the movement has expanded to 120 counties. The website states that more than 150,000 Little Free Libraries have collectively shared over 300 million books.
Library Manager Martin said she doesn’t know exactly how many books the Encampment Little Free Library will contain. However, Martin said she has a large selection of donated books to place into the little library’s rotation.
