By Megan Alley
Sun Reporter
The school year has started, but we’re taking a look back to earlier this summer, when a group of New Richmond High School students, led by a passionate reading teacher, completed a literacy project that gave the gift of a lending library to folks in their local community.
Andrea L. Schultz, a longtime middle school language arts teacher and now a reading specialist at New Richmond Middle School, spearheaded the initiative to bring three Little Free Libraries to the area — one in each of three trailer parks in the school district – Hilltop, Lakeside Estates and Hi-View.
“I just wanted to get some little libraries in our three biggest trailer parks in the school district,” Schultz said when asked to explain her motivation for the project.
Schultz had experience working with local elementary school students and noticed that some of them had “gaps” in their reading abilities, due in part because, as Schultz explained it, “they didn’t have access to books, and no one was reading to them.”
While there are local branches of the county library in nearly every community, it’s not always easy for families to make it to the library to borrow books, Schultz said.
“A lot of people who live in our community don’t have transportation to the library,” she explained.
So, she got to work with local educational foundations and brainstormed opportunities to help fund a solution – bring libraries to the people, through the Little Free Library organization.
According to the nonprofit organization’s website, “Little Free Library is a nonprofit organization that inspires a love of reading, builds community, and sparks creativity by fostering neighborhood book exchanges around the world. Through Little Free Libraries, millions of books are exchanged each year, profoundly increasing access to books for readers of all ages and backgrounds.”
Little Free Libraries offers the Little Free Libraries, assembled, for about $1,000 each.
Former New Richmond Schools Superintendent Adam Bird pitched in to help Schultz think of funders, and as it turns out, all of the local parent teacher organizations, as well as Lions Reach Out, the local Veterans of Foreign Wars chapter, and private donors, all chipped in.
Schultz then partnered with New Richmond High School art teacher Amy Hauserman to enlist a few students to donate class time to custom paint each of the Little Free Libraries.
Then, high school seniors and now graduates, Abby Green and Sophia Deardorff, along with then NRHS junior Taylor Powell, all helped with the painting.
“I believe they felt very proud of their work,” Schultz said. “They took a vested interest in the project.”
When it came to installing the Little Free Libraries – which was delayed because of early summer rains, but finally happened in late June – Schultz enlisted New Richmond High School football coaches Pat Burke and Rick Mahan, and their players Jack McDonough, Luke Lytle and Tyler Noble to help.
All the Free Little Libraries are located near the trailer park offices.
Shortly after they were installed, Schultz said that she noticed a little girl opening the door to borrow a book.
Schultz has collected an “abundance” of books that she’ll use to populate the Free Little Libraries; she will be the official steward for the local book exchange programs.
“The goal is to promote literacy throughout the school district,” she said. “It has been a labor of love; it’s really been something that’s worth the struggle.”