Librarian Lisa Lopez and students at Zavala Elementary love to use their Little Free Library.
Imagine discovering a birdhouse full of books on your school playground. That’s what students see every day at Zavala Elementary School in El Paso. El Paso is a city in western Texas that is near the border with Mexico. The “birdhouse” is really a small library known as a Little Free Library. Zavala’s students don’t need a library card to borrow books from it. They don’t have to pay fees, or money, if a book is returned late. But they are asked to leave a book in exchange for every book they borrow.
When Zavala Elementary’s librarian Lisa Lopez found out about Little Free Library, she wanted to have one at her school. Little Free Library is a group in Wisconsin that wants everyone to develop a love of reading. The group donated the birdhouse library to Zavala Elementary. Students liked it so much that Lopez built a second one. It looks like a dollhouse and is kept inside the school. Lopez says that students are more excited about reading because of the little libraries. Some students are even using the books to help other students learn to read.
Zavala Elementary is the first school in Texas to get a Little Free Library. Little Free Libraries can be found in other communities in the United States and all over the world. On the Little Free Library website, the group gives information about how people can build their own little libraries. The group hopes to build thousands more Little Free Libraries, so more communities around the world can enjoy them.
Image credit: ©Lisa Lopez
Related Link
- Little Free Library
Learn more about the Little Free Library program. Find out how you can start your own Little Free Library or look at a map to find a Little Free Library near you.