Little Free Library Dedicated at Park

Huntington Councilwoman Joan Cergol joined with the members of Brownie Troop 3650 May 31 in dedicating the Little Free Library at Sweet Hollow Park that the troop obtained, decorated, donated to the Town and will manage.

        Cergol, who helped facilitate the donation of the library and worked with other town officials in determining its placement, spoke briefly with the girls before unveiling the library, a refurbished former newspaper vending box. The councilwoman then joined with the troop and its leaders, Adele Tongish and Katie Ehrlich, in placing the first books into the library.

          “The girls did an amazing job decorating the library,” Cergol said. “As the girls told me, they hope the library will be a welcome addition to the park, encouraging children to read and providing reading material for parents who bring their children to the playground. Thank you to the troop leaders and to all the girls for their hard work and for making the Town part of their project.”

          This is the third Little Free Library on Town property. The first, in the lobby of Town Hall, was installed in January 2017 and is maintained by the Huntington Public Library. The second, at Gateway Community Garden in Huntington Station, was installed last summer and is maintained by the not-for-profit literacy group Book Fairies.

          The goal of the Little Free Library movement is to promote literacy and the love of reading by building free book exchanges worldwide and to build a sense of community by sharing skills, creativity and wisdom across generations. It was started in 2009, when Hudson, Wisc.,  resident Todd H. Bol built the first Little Free Library and placed it in his yard to honor his mother. The idea for the handmade book exchanges with the motto, “Take a book, return a book” took hold quickly, and the number of registered book exchanges has grown to more than 65,000 around the world, in all 50 states and 80 countries. The program is administered by the not-for-profit Little Free Library Ltd., which encourages the volunteer stewards who manage the book exchanges to register so their libraries can be found on the organization’s map. More details are on the group’s website, www.littlefreelibrary.org.

https://huntingtonnow.com/walt-whitmans-turning-199-and-the-festivities-have-already-begun/

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