Bolingbrook School to Get Little Free Library

Submitted by Valley View School District 365U

BOLINGBROOK , IL — Thanks to a grant from the R.R. Donnelley Foundation and an assist from the Geometry in Construction class at Romeoville High School, Tibbott Elementary School in Bolingbrook will add a “Little Free Library” to its edible garden in the spring.

The Little Free Library got its start in Wisconsin in 2009 when Todd Bol built a model of a one room schoolhouse as a tribute to his mother, a former school teacher who loved reading. He filled it with books and put it on a post in his front yard with a sign that said FREE BOOKS. Today there are hundreds of Little Free Libraries around the world.

Tibbott Library Media Center Director Erin Preder and Principal Ana Wilson sent a grant application to the Donnelley Foundation, hoping the Foundation’s love for, and support of, literacy projects would bring funds to launch the Little Free Library. Donnelley contributed $1,000.

Upon the suggestion of VVSD Assistant Superintendent Rachel Kinder, Tibbott asked Jim Egizio’s Geometry in Construction class at RHS to build the Little Free Library. Wilson’s daughter, an extremely accomplished artist, is adding her touch to the project by creating a butterfly-themed design for the outside of the Little Free Library, and it will be painted in time to put the structure in the garden in trhe spring.

“It’s exciting to add another academic component to our garden area,” Wilson said.

Donnelley’s Bolingbrook Logistics facility has long been an outstanding community partner with Tibbott. The Donnelley Foundation believes in “helping to strengthen the communities in which the employees of R. R. Donnelley & Sons live and work” by drawing on its tradition of supporting youth, education, inclusion and diversity.

The Little Free Library Foundation’s mission is to promote literacy and the love of reading by building free book exchanges worldwide that help create a sense of community by sharing skills, creativity and wisdom across generations.