12 Little Libraries Built In Elmhurst Area

ELMHURST, IL — The Little Free Libraries mission team of St. Peter’s United Church of Christ in Elmhurst is making books available to area children, especially those in neighborhoods where books are not always available at home and it is difficult to access public libraries, according to a church news release.

The literacy mission was created when the church’s youth shared the idea after having seen a Little Free Library on a mission trip in 2014. For the last five years, a committee has worked year-round to build libraries and library platforms, find books, and restock libraries, the news release said.

“Every one of every age in the congregation has somehow participated in this mission, and it’s truly wonderful to see how it’s touched everyone involved,” Barbara Clarke, a member of the Little Free Libraries Mission Team, said in the release.

So far, the committee has had 12 Little Free Libraries built, and has placed them in Elmhurst and surrounding communities. They can be found in laundromats, daycare centers, tutoring centers, community centers with social services, and food pantries.

A partnership with Edward-Elmhurst Hospitals has made it possible to place Little Free Libraries in the children’s waiting spaces at the emergency rooms of both hospitals and at several clinics, the news release said.

Picture books fill these libraries, as well as chapter books, which are provided to encourage older children to read. To date, more than a thousand books have been distributed through these Little Free Libraries.

If unused children’s books are available to you, St. Peter’s has just the audience waiting. Donations of any kind are sought. Call the church office at 630-530-6000 and leave your contact information. Someone from the committee will arrange for pickup or delivery of books at a time and place convenient to you, the release said.

St. Peter's United Church of Christ is at 125 W. Church. St. Visit its website.