East Lake Joins Little Free Library Movement

by Tris Sicignano

The East Lake community has joined a global movement that promotes literacy.

Little Free Libraries can be found all over the world, from Europe to Africa to Asia.

Thanks to the work of the East Lake Schools Coalition the Little Free Library movement has landed in East Lake. ELSC parent Jennifer Curtis read about the LFL while on a trip and brought the idea back to the ELSC. The idea was well-received and the first Little Free Library in East Lake opened two weeks later in the yard of ELSC founder Tris Sicignano.

The way it works is simple: We initially stock the LFL with a variety of good quality books that we hope will interest our neighbors. You stop by and take whatever catches your fancy. You return and bring books to contribute. LFL books are always a gift — never for sale!

The Little Free Library is a movement started in 2010 by Todd Bol and Rick Brooks and has grown to include little libraries in most states and dozens of countries. Little Free Library’s mission 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.
• Build more than 2,510 libraries around the world (the number of “real” libraries built by Andrew Carnegie)!

Check out the LFL story at www.littlefreelibrary.org and look at the many amazing examples of little libraries.

The East Lake community as a whole fell in love with the idea and four more Little Free Libraries are in the works. The ELSC has also included Saturday morning Story Time as part of the East Lake free library movement.

Story Times are scheduled every Saturday at 10:30 a.m. at the , located on the corner of Hosea L. Williams Dr. and Second Avenue.

Mrs. Sicignano is founder and chairwoman of the East Lake Neighbors Community Association's East Lake Schools Coalition committee. The East Lake Schools Coalition is charged with strengthening the ties between schools in the East Lake area and the community at large.