The town of Rock Springs, N.M. is about to get a Little Free Library.
In May, the Little Free Library nonprofit organization, headquartered in Hudson, Wis. granted book-sharing boxes to sites that serve children in an effort to improve book access to children across the country.
Recipients have included schools, literacy groups, Native American reservations, healthcare centers, homeless shelters, laundromats and more.
In May, Duane Yazzie of Shondeen Estates Resident Organization in Rock Springs was one of the first 25 grantees from the LFL Impact Library Program which makes grants to underserved communities, prioritizing organizations that serve children.
Each grantee will receive an LFL book-sharing box, a mounting post and a selection of children’s books provided by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt publishers.
Yazzie told the Gallup Sun that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, his community organization was delayed in getting up and running. He hopes to establish the Rock Springs Little Free Library with a grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony on Aug. 15.
Yazzie describes his community as a good fit for the grant.
“Shondeen Estates is a housing complex of the Navajo Housing Authority ... The students are predominantly of Native American descent and range from PreK to college and would greatly benefit from a neighborhood-based lending library,” Yazzie said.
The remaining 75 Little Free Library grantees will be announced this summer.
By Beth Blakeman
Associate Editor
