Each Little Free Library was beautifully hand-painted by local Rotarian Perry Cooksey with imaginative, eye-catching designs and are highlighted by whimsical, school-themed characters including a fanciful butterfly for Mariposa Computer Science Magnet, a leaping astronaut for Jack Northrup and a studious thoroughbred at Monte Vista.

Dedicated efforts by Tara Goines and Krista Thomsen of the Lancaster School District contributed to the three-school debut of the program, which is the result of a community partnership with the Lancaster Sunrise Rotary Club and support from Principals Eric Gold of Mariposa, Janice Forte Watson of Monte Vista, Dr. Hana Imoisili of Jack Northrup Elementary Schools and the LACOE Reading Language Arts (RLA) Unit. 

“One of our big initiatives is reading and so actually having students be excited to come and get these books is something we’re looking forward to,” said Eric Gold, principal at Mariposa Computer Magnet Elementary School. 

Each Little Free Library contains books contributed by the staff and students from the school where the library is located. The Little Free Libraries are accessible 24/7 and the Rotary Club has made the commitment to help keep the libraries maintained and stocked. 

LACOE RLA Project Director, Leslie Zoroya, was on hand for the dedications and thrilled to see the community partnership take hold. “Our CLSD Grant work with Lancaster focuses on evidenced based-early reading instruction, but the other key piece is promoting community engagement in literacy work. We can all support children as they experience the joy of reading.” 

“We know our most important need in our community is making sure kids know how to read, and they read on their schedule, so we’re going to make sure they have a little library where they can get the book that’s just for fun not necessarily for homework,” said Diane Grooms, of the Sunrise Rotary Club.

For more information, visit www.lacoe.edu/Curriculum-Instruction/Reading-Language-Arts 

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The Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE) is the nation's largest regional education agency. LACOE supports and protects the education and well-being of LA County's nearly two million children through an equity lens. For more information, visit www.lacoe.edu.