Public Invited to "Dedham Little Free Library" Project Celebration This Thursday

DEDHAM, MA - Over the past few months, a number of the little mini lending libraries have been installed across town. Looking like a large, decorated mailboxes with hinged doors, residents are encouraged to “give a book or take a book” from these little libraries. Now, the non-­profit library advocacy group Dedham Library Innovation Team (D‐LIT) is hosting a celebration of its Dedham Little Free Project on Thursday, November 12th at the Dedham Square Coffee House (aka Paradise Café) in Dedham Square.

The event will spotlight the successful completion and installation of the project’s first six little libraries. It is free and open to the public, and will feature light refreshments and a cash bar, as well as a chance for a sneak peek preview of some of the next libraries scheduled for installation in various town locations. The event is being co-hosted by project partner Dedham Square Artist Guild and has been generously sponsored by Author/Artist Peter H. Reynolds, owner of The Blue Bunny Bookstore, who is also slated to paint a little library in the coming months.

DLIT will be recognizing and honoring the many people who helped plan, design, build, paint, install and promote the twelve little libraries, which have been built, primed - six of which have been painted by artists from Dedham High School and community artists from Dedham Square Artist Guild – and installed by crews from the Town of Dedham’s Department of Public Works and Parks & Recreation. East Dedham’s Curtis-Newton Lumber and Lowe’s will also be recognized for the support of this project.

Additionally, special recognition will be given to State Representative Paul McMurtry and Dedham Housing Authority’s Joanne Toomey, who worked with the DHA Board of Directors, staff, families, National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials, and Massachusetts Chapter of NAHRO to bring some of the little libraries to DHA housing complexes, in Toomey’s words, “to promote literacy and the love of reading to our kids living in public housing.”

Dedham’s individually-decorated mini lending libraries have been built by Dedham High School students and painted by both students and community artists. The locations, titles and artists of the six fully painted and installed little libraries are as follows:

1) Town Hall – “Little Red Schoolhouse” built and painted by DHS students

2) Dedham Square Keystone Lot – “Head In The Clouds, Feet In The Trees” painted by Marietta Apollonio

3) Endicott MBTA Commuter Rail Station – “Poppies” painted by Susan Hoy

4) Veteran’s Road Housing Complex/East Dedham – ““Library in the Leaves” painted by Rev. Rali Weaver

5) Memorial Field on Eastern Avenue, “Pattern Recognition” painted by Lisa Houck

6) Oakdale Square, Church of the Good Shepherd – “Stars & Stripes” painted by Luke Barry

To build the little libraries, DLIT partnered with Dedham High School working directly with Director of Technology and Libraries Don Langenhorst, and DHS faculty teams, which included Engineering/Construction Teachers Steve Dewar (now retired) and Dave Haluska, as well as Fine Arts Director Jeff Bolduc, and Art Teacher Maureen O’Sullivan.

Dedham High School students who helped build and paint the little libraries include: Madeline Curran, Class of 2015; Michaela McMilan- Class of 2015; Joseph Badessa - Class of 2015; Emmanuel Villard - Class of 2015; Colin Sargent - Class of 2015; Christopher Karagiannis - Class of 2015; Samantha Letsche - Class of 2016, Hannah Romanish - Class of 2016; Rachel Strykowski - Class of 2016, Leah Badessa - Class of 2016; and Ashley Wiggins - Class of 2017 (now transferred).

During this Thursdays’ event, the DLIT leadership team will also be announcing the winners of its 2015 DLIT Grant Awards, which serve to promote innovation in Dedham’s public and school libraries.

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ABOUT LITTLE FREE LIBRARIES: The Little Free Library Project was originally founded by Todd Bol. Bol designed the first “little library” built on a post as a tribute to his mother, who was a book lover and schoolteacher. As the concept spread, the goal was the creation of 2,150 Little Libraries, which would surpass the number of libraries founded by Andrew Carnegie. The mission of the Little Free Library movement is to: • Promote literacy and the love of reading by building free book exchanges worldwide. • Foster a sense of community and connection as we share skills, creativity and wisdom across generations. To learn more, explore the project’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/dedhamlittlefreelibrary.

ABOUT DLIT: A registered 501 c3 non-­‐profit organization, The Dedham Library Innovation Team is an open and welcoming community group of those who understand the increasingly critical value of today’s modern library. To that end, the group is committed to creating collaborative, positive partnerships between the libraries, schools, public officials, businesses, and residents in order to support the strategic vision and development of a best-­in‐class, vibrant public library system in Dedham, MA. For more information, follow the group on Twitter at @DLIT_Dedham, check out the group’s Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/DedhamLibraryInnovationTeam.

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