Bronze Award Project Maps the Mini Libraries
By Mary Byrne, Belmont Voice staff
Building on lessons they’ve learned about mutual benefit, a group of Girl Scouts has tasked itself with finding and documenting each of the mini libraries scattered around town.
The project, which will earn them their Bronze Award, grew from their original plan to put together a community fridge to help combat food insecurity. The group of Chenery Upper Elementary School fifth graders said they’d also talked about projects tied to picking up trash or collecting school supplies for students in need.
Though the plans for a community fridge ultimately fell through for various reasons beyond their control — mainly timing — the concept of the community helping the community and a common interest in books and reading brought them to the mini libraries located around town.
Together and on their own time, the troop has located various libraries and added them to a growing list, which will all eventually be plotted on an online map accessible to anyone. Although a lot of the libraries are found through their own individual observation while out and about with their families, the girls also have gone on field trips, and at times interviewed the property owners where the libraries are located.
“There’s a lot around here,” said Essie Munoz, adding that the boxes don’t always just have books, but small toys and “fidgets,” or other items. “Something you don’t need … someone else might see as treasure.”
Fellow Girl Scout Sif Vienberg said the fact the libraries are free means they available to everyone to access.
“I found a book about life back in the 1900s, about WWII, and the way they lived and I thought that was pretty interesting,” she said.
Cora Caporini said as part of their project, they created two of their own mini libraries. The boxes, which they painted, will be raffled off for free, according to troop leader Stephanie Munoz.
The map is a work in progress, she said. Anyone who wants to submit the location of a library is welcome to do so at bit.ly/BelmontCommunityLibraries.
