Fay Jones School, Design Professionals Partner with Literacy Council for Little Free Libraries Project

Photo Submitted

This design for "Pequena Biblioteca" earned second place among the three top-scoring projects in a design competition for new Little Free Libraries in the area.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – A partnership between the Ozark Literacy Council, the Northwest Arkansas chapter of the American Institute of Architects and the Fay Jones School of Architecture at the University of Arkansas is bringing professionally designed Little Free Libraries to Northwest Arkansas in 2015. Designs by professionals and students will be built and sponsored in a unique outreach and fundraising initiative for the literacy council.

A kick-off event for this project will take place Nov. 20 in Vol Walker Hall on the University of Arkansas campus.

Little Free Library is a worldwide movement that offers free books housed in small containers to members of the local public. The movement began in 2009 by Todd Bol and Rick Brooks with only a handful of Little Free Libraries built and installed in Wisconsin. The libraries quickly grew in number and popularity and led to the establishment of Little Free Library. The nonprofit organization’s mission is to promote a sense of community, reading for children, literacy for adults and libraries around the world. Today, it is recognized as a grassroots movement that comprises almost 20,000 libraries worldwide.

This local partnership will help raise funds for the literacy council, as well as help support its mission to expand literacy within the Northwest Arkansas community. The literacy council is a nonprofit organization that has been providing free adult basic literacy and language services to adults in the region for 50 years.

“The Little Free Libraries offer an accessible community resource that incorporates thoughtful design and placement, which exhibits the libraries in ways that foster discovery while encouraging neighbors to engage with them and each other,” said Margot Jackson Lemaster, executive director of the Ozark Literacy Council. “The result is more tightly knit communities that demonstrate a sense of ownership and pride for their libraries.

“These days, significantly fewer people are reading books,” she added. “By placing books where people can easily access them, we hope they will be more likely to pick one up and read it.”

The local Little Free Libraries project will be constructed in two phases. Phase one involves a design competition with the Northwest Arkansas AIA chapter. Community sponsorships will be solicited for the 15 designs recently submitted to the competition. These sponsorships will be $6,000, of which $500 will go to the designer for construction of the library. The sponsor of the design will decide where the Little Free Library will be placed, as well as designate a steward to keep an eye on the library and restock it as needed.

“The Northwest Arkansas AIA is excited to work collectively with the Ozark Literacy Council, the Fay Jones School, Washington County business owners and residents to integrate Little Free Libraries into our communities,” said Lori Yazwinski Santa-Rita, chair of the Northwest Arkansas AIA chapter and a 2005 graduate of the Fay Jones School. “Professionally designed Little Free Libraries demonstrate a deliberate approach to building stronger community identity and a sense of place. Several of the designs incorporate unique details, such as lighting and seating, to not only encourage interaction with the surrounding environment but to pick up a book and read.”

The Little Free Library project committee consists of both literacy council board members and community members, many of whom are librarians and architects. This committee has identified several dozen locations where the libraries would most benefit the community, such as homeless shelters, senior centers, trail systems, bus stops, hospitals and low-income neighborhoods, among many others.

The second phase of the project will include architecture students in the Fay Jones School who will participate in a design/build course taught in the spring by Angie Carpenter, visiting assistant professor of architecture in the school. Once the students’ designs are completed in February, sponsorships of $3,000 will be solicited for the designs. Students plan to use materials from the school’s scrap supply, as well as donated materials.

The literacy council hopes to install at least 25 Little Free Libraries in the region through this project.

“The Fay Jones School is extremely happy to partner with the Ozark Literacy Council and the NWA AIA chapter in this collaborative initiative,” said Peter MacKeith, dean of the Fay Jones School. “The Little Free Library projects explicitly address our commitment to community engagement through public design. Literacy can be promoted as both an intellectual and a creative achievement. And we look forward to seeing these constructions enliven the region.”

Utilizing the “take a book, return a book” approach, Little Free Libraries act as gathering sites where neighbors and visitors share their favorite literature and stories. They strengthen community and foster discovery, curiosity and a love of reading for all ages. The Little Free Library organization set a goal of building 2,510 little libraries, which was met in August 2012. By January 2014, the total number of registered Little Free Libraries in the world was conservatively estimated to be nearly 15,000, with thousands more being built.

The world map of registered Little Free Libraries can be found on the organization’s website.

The literacy council’s partnership with Little Free Libraries will help promote its goal of ensuring that all people in Washington County possess literacy and language skills that enhance their lives and empower them to become fully participating members of the community. Last year, the literacy council served nearly 300 individuals with four levels of tutoring and classes in adult basic literacy and English as a Second Language, which included curriculum in language, civic, financial, health and workforce literacy.

A gala event to celebrate this project is planned for April 2015.