Mayor Dedicates “Little Free Library” Eagle Scout Project
Written by Doug Stuart
SYRACUSE, OH – Syracuse Mayor Eric Cunningham announced the opening last Thursday evening of the Mid-Ohio Valley’s first “Little Free Library”, a local Eagle Scout project, just in time for the Independence Day holiday weekend. The Little Free Library, built and installed last week on the Syracuse Village Hall grounds by John M. Stuart and Pomeroy Boy Scout Troop 299 as part of Stuart’s requirements for the rank of Eagle Scout, is a self-serve “books in a box” mini-lending library operating 24/7 under the honor system motto, “Take A Book, Return A Book.” In the mayor’s July 3rd proclamation, he dedicated the Library “to the people of Syracuse and Meigs County, Ohio” on behalf of Troop 299, and announced it immediately open to the public. Cunningham noted the Village is promoting the Little Free Library on the Village’s Facebook pages to help get the word out. He said he was excited about the new community addition, and that the location is ideally situated adjacent to the Village Hall main parking lot and London Pool, and near regular foot traffic passing by Village Hall offices.
Stuart, 17, a Life Scout and member of Scoutmaster Greg McCall’s BSA Troop 299 since 2009, says he has nearly completed the Eagle rank, with construction of his Little Free Library project one of the final steps toward accomplishing the goal. After seeing it remarked on in Better Homes & Gardens magazine, Stuart’s older sister Angela, a former London Pool lifeguard, mentioned the Little Free Library idea to him, and he quickly took interest. Stuart discovered that there are Little Free Libraries all over the U.S. and the world, and an international non-profit organization, LittleFreeLibrary.org, promotes, registers and coordinates establishment of the community projects. “I knew that Meigs County has public libraries in Racine, Middleport, Pomeroy, and the Tuppers Plains area. But Syracuse just stood out because I used to live there, and it doesn’t have a library. So I thought I’d do something about that,” Stuart observed. Stuart noted that the nearest existing official Little Free Library is in Logan, Ohio, over an hour’s drive from Syracuse.
So Stuart sought and gained approval to proceed from his local Boy Scouts leadership and the Mayor, and had soon garnered donations for most of the materials through the generosity of John Thomas of Valley Lumber & Supply Co. of Middleport. Stuart purchased a few remaining materials but also received some support from Lowe’s of Vienna, W. Va., Dettwiller’s True Value Hardware of Pomeroy, and King’s ACE Hardware of Middleport. Stuart supplied the bulk of the labor to build the weather-proof box itself, with some guidance from his dad, while McCall and the troop contributed most of the foundation and installation work. Stuart said that he is in the process of officially registering the Library with LittleFreeLibrary.org, so it will be listed on their web site and world map, along with GPS coordinates. He has also ordered a sign with the official national logo, and anticipates having it within a couple weeks. Stuart figures he’s personally volunteered over 75 hours of his time to the entire project, with dozens more donated by others. He continued, “I hope people especially in that part of Meigs County will enjoy having some free books to read and sharing some of their favorites with others. I also hope the box lasts a long time and people will help look after it; I tried to make it pretty solid. And by the way, if anybody wants to make another one, just email me at [email protected]– I’m glad to share what I learned.”
(Editor’s Note): Little Free Library is a non-profit, tax-exempt organization whose mission is to promote a sense of community, reading for children, literacy for adults and libraries around the world.
Little Free Libraries themselves are hand-crafted structures that contain constantly changing collections of books donated and shared by people of all ages and backgrounds. Most Little Free Libraries are placed in front yards, parks, gardens and easily accessible locations. The Libraries are built to withstand weather of all kinds and hold 20-100 books. Some Libraries are located in coffee shops, in or near restaurants and community centers. Originally designed to look like a one-room school or a “house of books,” the Libraries rapidly took on a wide variety of sizes, shapes, themes and other attributes. There is no standard size and shape. Although many businesses and apartments may have had “take a book, leave a book” shelves for years, the idea of a network of unique structure with stewards, signage and social support began in 2010.
To be officially called a Little Free Library, a free book exchange must have an official sign, number and/or listing on the Little Free Library Map of the World. More Libraries are being registered every day. For press inquiries please contact: Todd Bol, Co-founder and Executive Director, [email protected].
