Michal Ruprecht
TAKE ONE, LEAVE ONE | The Free Little Library at Grosse Pointe Shores Park is open for anyone to borrow or donate a book.
Last February, Interact Club donated over 1,000 books to start a Little Free Library at Ghesquiere Park. Now, their work is paying off.
According to a study by the National Institute of Literacy, about 47 percent of adults in Detroit are functionally illiterate, meaning they have a hard time with reading, writing, speaking and computer skills. Interact Club wanted to change that.
Little Free Libraries are book exchanges that give residents access to literature. They work on a “take a book, leave a book” honor system.
“The library is at Ghesquiere Park to give Woods residents a chance to check out books while visiting the park,” Interact Club adviser Barbara Skelly said via email. “We think the libraries will give people of all ages the opportunity to read books.”
After Detroit became the Little Free Library Capital with more than any other city, residents decided to create their own little libraries. Suzy Berschback, Grosse Pointe Farms resident, is one of them. She built her own little library in front of her house so passers-by can take and leave books.
In doing this, Berschback said she wants to help foster both community and neighborhood and to share the joy of learning and connect her neighbors.
“I hope they bring people together who are curious and also like to share books,” Berschback said via email. “I am constantly looking to give my books away.”
Junior Sydney Murray is a member of Interact Club and helped with the book drive. She believes this program has many advantages for Grosse Pointe residents.
Murray wishes more people donate books to the library and also wants to see more Little Free Libraries in Detroit.
“It’s a good way to read other books, and if they’re in your house, then other people could read them. It’s a good way to just get them out there so they’re not going to waste,” Murray said.
She also thinks it could address the problem of illiteracy. “It could really help (Detroiters) to become more literate so that the community can grow to be smarter,” she said.
According to the Little Free Library Organization, there are nearly 40,000 Little Free Library book exchanges worldwide. The group’s goal is to increase the number so more people have access to literature.
Interact Club started the Little Free Library at Ghesquiere, but there are more around the community that were created by other groups. Other Little Free Libraries can be found at the Grosse Pointe Shores Park, Rotary Tot Lot in Grosse Pointe City and Belle Isle Nature Zoo in Detroit.
Skelly aims to add more Little Free Library book exchanges in the future. She thinks the organization is a great way to get people reading more.
“It is the hope that the libraries will continue to spread,” she said. “(We want to) give more people the opportunity to experience the joy of reading.”