Free Little Libraries of Oglethorpe County, GA
After receiving hundreds of books donated by Athens NPO Books For Keeps, I filled the Arnoldsville Food Pantry's book shelf with several hundred books then spent this past weekend distributing the remainder of the books to the Little Free Libraries throughout the county. The Bryan Park Little Library was the first place I dropped off books donated by Books For Keeps. It was a complete mess. After some serious cleaning and rearranging, I added over 40 books to the book exchange. This little library is sponsored by the local library and their friends group.
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| Messy when I arrived |
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| Cleaned and refilled |
The effort of the county library's friends group is to be commended for the Little Free Library in Philomath, GA. It's a solid box of fair size needing only a coat of paint. It provides the only noticeable community spot. There were numerous books available and some food was also inside. The pulp paperbacks were double stacked. A five minute tidy and the food was separated and adult books straightened. I was left with a tiny space under the roof to add 14 children's books. Unfortunately, that was all the space available and the angle of the roof limited the size of the books.
Maxeys, GA is a lovely little town with historic homes and a small row of deserted stores. Among them is the old post office and the fire hall. A wall of old post office boxes still in use line the open foyer. Off to one side, the Maxeys Women's Club has set up a bench and book shelves for a book exchange. This site is a joint effort with the Oglethorpe County Library and its friends group.
There were so many books available between the two shelves that I was left with only the shelf tops to add children's books. I straightened all the books then took the existing children's books and put them on top of the shelves to make them more visible. The book ends weren't steady so I used them for books placed sideways.
The shelf next to the door was a perfect spot to place some of the largest children's books from the Books For Keeps donation. Again, limited space meant some had to be stacked and some were placed as a display.
The Oglethorpe County School System has set up little libraries in several locations around the county. All are beautifully built. The school has bought new books for their little libraries and from the looks of the box's empty spots, it looks like they are being used. I also found food in at least one of their little libraries. As in Philomath, the Vesta location was in the remote corner of the county miles and miles from grocery stores.
Stephens, GA, little free library before adding books from Books For Keeps
A close up shot of the added books. To enlarge, open the picture in a separate tab.
This little library is located outside the Stephens, GA, Post Office.
In the far reaches of the county is Vesta, GA. A crossroads with a flag pole is the only thing to indicate a community. The school has placed a free little library. This is a shot of the food and books I found.
Another quick tidy, the food was placed together, the books straightened, and a place was made for the donated books from Books For Keeps.
Topped off with books.
This little free library outside the Pleasant Hill community VFD is another wonderful school sponsored box and so many new books have been placed there. A first glance showed that children had already been picking out favorites.
I went by the Beaverdam VFD little library and added the last of the Books For Keeps donations on Sunday. No pictures are available. The phone I've been using to capture the little libraries powered down too quickly.
I was pleased to see that the little libraries are in use, stocked with books, especially with an emphasis on children's books thanks to the school's efforts. The food spoke of the sad reality of food deserts and the growing hunger within our community as our country reels from massive unemployment and hunger. Obviously neighbors want to help their neighbors. When I searched for food banks in this area I found over a dozen. Unfortunately, all but one listed Oglethorpe County citizens as eligible for food. One food bank served Oglethorpe citizens. ONE! And like so many others, the documentation process for eligibility, combined with restricted days they were open further highlighted the current problems in a country with 40 million unemployed people. The food pantry Mary and I started at #3 Railroad St in Arnoldsville is open 24/7 and no paperwork is needed to receive food. We rely on donations from neighbors to help neighbors.
