The Centerville-Washington Park District is celebrating the addition of the fourth Little Free Library within your park system. A Little Free Library is a collection of books allowing anyone to stop by, pick up a book to read and leave another behind to share. First introduced in Wisconsin, the concept has turned into a worldwide book sharing movement.
The Park District will host a ribbon cutting at Yankee Park on Friday, April 13 at 5:30 p.m. Bring along a book to share with the library. Representatives from each group involved in the project will be present at the event, and the ceremony will include brief speeches from the Centerville-Washington Park District and the Penbrooke Garden Club. Families will enjoy refreshments, story time, and take home a souvenir. Yankee Park also includes playground equipment; a picnic shelter; a paved multi-use trail; baseball diamonds; tennis and pickleball courts; and a sand volleyball court.
A generous donation from the Penbrooke Garden Club helped make the Little Free Library possible, and it will continue to be stocked with books by the Friends of Washington-Centerville Public Library, making this project doubly important to Kim Senft-Paras, Library Director and Penbrooke Garden Club member: “The Friends of Washington-Centerville Public Library provided books for the Little Free Libraries at Schoolhouse Park and Iron Horse Park as part of their mission to undertake initiatives that encourage community spirit, literacy and reading. It is natural that they would assist here, too. The addition of a Little Free Library to Yankee Park made possible by the Penbrooke Garden Club is a perfect combination. As the Roman orator Cicero said, “If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.””
Students from a Wright State University MBA project management class volunteered their time and skills to design and build the library. “Working on the Little Free Library has been a beneficial learning experience. It allowed us to partner with several great organizations, and gave us the opportunity to promote local parks and be part of an exciting community resource that encourages reading and the sharing of books between residents,” said Carin Helm, Wright State University MBA student.
The Little Free Library will be monitored by the Friends of Washington-Centerville Library to make sure it is always stocked with books. Visit to drop off a book to enjoy and pick up a new one for yourself or your children!
The Park District also has Little Free Libraries at Schoolhouse Park, Iron Horse Park and Robert F. Mays Park. You can find other Little Free Libraries in our area and all over the world by visiting the Little Free Library website.