If we build it, they will read. That was Jeff Sefcik’s vision when he began looking at the possibility of Little Free Libraries coming to neighborhoods within the Fox Lake School District 114 area. Mr. Sefcik, Stanton School’s Principal, began spearheading the project several months ago and is thrilled to announce that four Little Free Libraries are in place and now open for business. That means, anytime of the day or night people can get a book or share a book without any fee or library card. Mr. Sefcik, a book lover himself, wholeheartedly believes the benefits of the Little Free Libraries are endless and include a wonderful way to promote reading for children, literacy for adults, general neighborliness, and they will also cultivate a real spirit of generosity. “The idea that someone will take a book that piques their interest, and sometime in the future return either that book, or a totally different one is exciting,” said Principal Sefcik. “I personally witnessed Lotus Elementary students taking books and a Stanton student donating books to one of the libraries.”
Each Little Free Library was hand painted by Stanton students and the four locations are: the corner of Maude Avenue and Cora Avenue in the Hidden Glen Subdivision, the corner of Kendall Avenue and Dewey Street in the Lake Vista Terrace Subdivision, Hickory Street in the Hidden Cove Mariana Subdivision, and the intersection of Lakeshore Drive and Greenwood Avenue in the Lotus Woods Subdivision. A special thanks to the Fox Lake District 114 PTA and Robert D. Sayles Educational Foundation for funding the libraries and to the stewards for overseeing each library.
As of 2016, there are over 36,000 registered Little Free Libraries in all 50 states and 70 countries and Mr. Sefick couldn’t be more proud to count District 114’s four locations among them. This year alone, Little Free Libraries will help exchange an estimated 9.3 million books including those in the Fox Lake/Spring Grove area.
For more information please visit www.littlefreelibrary.org