The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Historic school house to host event
Concord Township’s first Free Little Library is scheduled to be unveiled at the Old Stone School House, 7125 Ravenna Road, on April 29.
School House docent Dan Maxson said the event’s purpose is manifold, including to promote literacy and the school house, itself, which has been enjoying a sort of renaissance over the last year, since Maxson took up the position.
Thanks to a partnership involving the Concord Township Recreation Department, Morley Library and Friends of Morley Library, the township’s first Free Little Library, based on the Little Free Library concept, will be unveiled at the school house during the event. Additionally, there will be a new and gently use children’s book collection happening at the same time. Proceeds will then be sent to area children’s hospital wards to stock their bookshelves.
Maxson said the idea of a Little Library at the Old Stone School House makes sense, especially considering its location adjacent to a popular Lake Metroparks facility.
“(I) was looking for ways to engage the Lake County community in the (school house) site,” he wrote in an April 20 e-mail exchange. “Our parking lot grants access to many Greenway Corridor
participants, so the idea of a library and school house seemed logical.”
He said the idea came by way of a neighboring Lake County community’s library.
“The goal was to model it after a similar program the Mentor Public Library had in place, but with a 44077 spin,” he said, invoking the Painesville ZIP code, of which much of Concord Township is a part.
He said he “brainstormed with Recreation Director and Site Manager Debra Esker over the winter months and decided to move forward.”
“(We) contacted Aurora Martinez of the Morley Library, who was eager to partner in a community program that sponsored literacy,” Maxson said, adding that Martinez shared the names of some folks associated with the Friends of Morley Library “who were very eager and generous in their support.”
Friends of Morley Library President Maryanne Moravec said she and the group are happy to be able to help.
“We are very pleased to be able to provide the Little Library to Concord,” she wrote in an April 20 e-mail exchange. “It is our priority to make sure that gently used books are available to readers to enjoy.”
She said they receive donations from various donors and the library itself, and the group’s members sort, shelve and sell them in the library’s Friends Book Cellar during sales events at Morley Library to help fund activities and support supplemental library programs. She said the Friends of Morley Library supplies books to the Lake County Jail and Juvenile Detention Center, as well.
Concord Township’s Esker said she’s excited about the opportunity to provide books at their new Little Library.
“It’s a great collaboration between Morley Library, the Friends of Morley Library and Concord Township,” she said. “And I can say that Concord Township is deeply grateful to the Friends of Morley Library for their generous donation for Concord’s first Little Free Library.”
She added that it’s a nice offering for the community’s residents and visitors.
“We’re excited to offer this opportunity to our residents and we encourage people to visit the Old Stone School House to see the new “Free Little library.”
Esker also said she and the others involved are grateful to Maxson for stepping up and devoting so much of his time to helping to facilitate the re-emergence of the Old Stone School House as an outstanding Concord Township historical and cultural landmark.
“We’re very, deeply grateful to Dan Maxson for volunteering his time and for his dedication to breathe life back into the Old Stone School House,” she said.
Maxson said the Concord Township Service Department helped finish the Little Free Library structure, which was stained and permanently placed at the school house earlier this month.
The festivities are scheduled from 1 to 3 p.m. April 29, with the Little Library unveiling taking place promptly at 1 p.m.