Local leaders are planning to create more “little libraries” in disadvantaged communities around San Diego County to boost literacy in low-income and communities of color, the county announced Tuesday.
The San Diego County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted in favor of Supervisor Nora Vargas’ initiative to create more of the mini reading hubs in marginalized communities.
“Residents can borrow books as they like and return them afterward as an honor-based system,” Vargas said in a statement. “The motto being ‘take a book and share a book.’”
A “little library” is a sharing box placed in various neighborhoods that offer the community books to borrow. Residents are able to borrow them for as long as they’d like and having them in their immediate area helps boost reading opportunities.
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Vargas said the county’s library system has “been fantastic” in increasing literacy at all of its branches, but she recognizes that disadvantaged communities sometimes face obstacles in being able to take advantage of the available resources. District 1’s supervisor said that a lack of access to transportation or financial hardships pose a challenge in obtaining available services.
This is where the “little libraries” initiative comes in.
“This initiative today is going to address disparities seen in disadvantaged communities by promoting and encouraging reading from home and by creating more access to literature,” Vargas’ statement continued.
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The San Diego County Library will collaborate with the San Diego Council on Literacy and several nonprofit organizations like the national Little Free Library Organization, the County’s Friends of Library groups and volunteers.
It is unclear when the little libraries will begin to be constructed and where exactly they will be placed.
