MOULTRIE, Ga. — Little Free Libraries are popping up all over Colquitt County.

The Rotary Club of Moultrie has established five such sites in Moultrie, where residents can borrow, exchange or leave books for others. Three more were started in Doerun under a Colquitt EMC Bright Ideas grant.

Now, six more are in the works to be located at C.A. Gray Junior High School and Cox, Stringfellow, Okapilco, Norman Park and Funston elementary schools.  

A press release from the Colquitt County School System said the new sites are the result of a collaborative community partnership of the Rotary Club, the schools’ CTAE Department, Archway Professional Sarah Adams and Holman’s Supply Company. 

Dr. Tabiathia Baldy, Multi-Tiered System of Supports Director for Colquitt County School District, said, “The Rotary immediately stepped up when I was looking for a sponsor, and our CTAE Department was willing to take on the building project.” 

She went on to mention a 2019 article by the School Library Journal, which had a highlighted map of “book deserts” across the nation that included Colquitt County, and said, “I knew there were fewer options in our area than others, but seeing Colquitt County highlighted on the map as a ‘book desert’ rattled me. It doesn’t have to be this way.” 

She then stated, “I’m happy we have so many others in our community who are passionate about increasing book access to our families.”

The Little Free Libraries concept was founded in 2009 by Todd H. Bol as a tribute to his mother, according to the release. The library sites, which are described as simple, weatherproof book boxes, are similar to newspaper stands. 

The operation of the site is simple. Any person wanting to borrow one or more books may open the box and grab one to take home. Then when they are finished reading it, they return it to the site. They may also exchange the books for others or deposit books of their own into the box to share. 

Currently, there are five Little Free Library sites, which were established by the Rotary Club at Colquitt Regional Memorial Hospital, Main Street Park, the Moultrie Municipal Building, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Moultrie and Berlin, and the Talk Event Center, according to the release. 

Earlier this year, Ashley Pitts, a Doerun teacher, secured an EMC Bright Ideas grant. Doerun Elementary School installed three Little Free Library sites in partnership with Colquitt EMC, Doerun City Council and the City of Doerun. 

Lateegra Fiveash, program director of the Moultrie Boys and Girls Club, said the Little Free Library is important to the club’s work.

Each day, three different groups of five to six children are brought to the reading section. The groups range from 5- through 6-year olds, 8- through 9-year olds and 10- through 12-year olds. 

While in the reading section, the children start off with exercises such as sight words. Then, they will pull out a book to read and return to their respective rooms when finished reading.

At the Boys & Girls Club, they receive books from the school and parents. They also send books home and keep the concept of the Little Free Library as the children return books that have been sent home. Then, they exchange them for other books or bring new books to be shared with others. 

“I think it’s excellent because it allows them to not only read books that they seem like ‘Oh, I like this book’, but it also allows them to go and look at another book and say, ‘Oh, well, I can learn about space today.’ So, it opens their minds up a little bit more,” Fiveash said. “I feel like it’s a really, really good thing.” 

Supporting education is one of Rotary’s eight primary areas of focus, said Rotary President Jacklyn Donovan in the press release.

“It is especially important to us, as more than 775 million people over the age of 15 — nearly 17 percent of the world’s population — are illiterate,” Donovan said. “Our goal is to strengthen the capacity of Moultrie and Colquitt County to support basic education and literacy, and we can think of no better way than by supporting this initiative.”

Baldy expressed the hope that the initiative will continue to grow across the county.

You may contact tabiathia.baldy@colquitt.k12.ga.us if you would like to assist in the maintenance of the current Little Free Libraries or are interested in partnering to place more sites.