Little Free Library Dedicated at North River Church of Christ
The Cobb Collaborative led a ribbon cutting for a brand new Little Free Library at North River Church of Christ. Executive Director Irene Barton was joined by Marietta City Ward 1 Councilwoman Cheryl Richardson, Marietta City Schools Chief Impact Officer Kim Blass, as well as leaders from HOPE Worldwide, Cobb County Public Library, Cobb Collaborative and North River.
Little Free Library is a nonprofit organization dedicated to putting books in the hands of children and adults in communities around the world with a vision to have “a Little Free Library in every community and a book for every reader.” These book-sharing boxes remove barriers to book access by being available 24/7 with free accessibility. LFLs operate under the “Take One, Leave One” theory which encourages readers to not only take a book, but to leave one for others when there is an ability to do so.
As a Little Free Library community partner, Cobb Collaborative is pleased to continue its goal of establishing LFLs throughout the county. This is the first library opened in the City of Marietta this year, but the 56th one that the Collaborative has placed in Cobb County since 2021. The Collaborative also serves as the local point of contact for the Get Georgia Reading Campaign. Research from the campaign demonstrates that development and use of language skills from childhood through adolescence can have a dramatic and positive impact on an individual’s quality of life and life outcomes.
North River Church will serve as the stewards for the Park Street LFL, ensuring that it is stocked with a variety of child-friendly books. Noelle Broyles, stated that “North River is beyond thrilled to be the steward of this new LFL. One of the many projects of our church and the HOPE Worldwide program is to put books into children’s hands throughout Marietta in an effort to increase literacy skills.” Councilwoman Richardson noted that access to books is just one of the many ways to increase a sense of community and she is thrilled that this will be the first of several in Ward 1 this year.
For more information on Little Free Libraries, including sponsorship opportunities, please contact Cobb Collaborative Executive Director, Irene Barton, via email at ibarton@cobbcollaborative.org.
Click here to find Little Free Libraries in your area. To learn more about LFLs and Cobb Collaborative’s Literacy initiative, please visit our Literacy web page.