Little Libraries Promote Love of Learning

Two campus child care centers received Little Free Libraries during the fall semester as part of a joint project to promote the love of learning to children under the age of 5 and to improve access to books for both children and adults.

Chapter 246 of the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi (PKP), MTSU’s most prestigious honor society for all academic disciplines, received a $1,200 literacy grant last summer from its national headquarters in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. MTSU’s circle of Omicron Delta Kappa (ODK) National Leadership Honor Society simultaneously received a $500 grant from its national headquarters to purchase books on leadership for its new Leadership Lending Library and, as part of that project, decided to partner with the PKP chapter to build and stock the little libraries.

Thanks to the efforts of our student leaders, Little Free Libraries have been installed at MTSU’s Child Development Center located at the Fairview Building and the Ann Campbell Early (ACE) Learning Center on Baird Lane. Each was constructed by graduate student Nathan Wahl, a PKP student vice president and a carpenter. Wahl called the libraries an “opportunity for discovery.”

Connie Casha, director of early learning programs for MTSU’s College of Education, said she was very excited to have the ACE Little Free Library on campus, explaining the importance of books to childhood development.

Little Free Library at ACE

“We think about books as being windows or mirrors, windows into things that they can’t see immediately and mirrors being a reflection of what they already know,” Casha said.

Forty-two percent of the children served by the Child Development Center come from families of color, and 22% are from families who are not native English speakers. Director Stephanie Clift-Bourgault said the free library will help teach the students new English words in compliance with the center’s mission.

Forty-five percent of the children served by the Ann Campbell Early Learning Center have a disability. Campbell Center Director Christy Davis said the location of its free library will provide greater access for people who struggle with reading.

Dedication for book donation by PKP/ODK at Fairview

A third campus center, the MTSU Child Care Lab on Alumni Drive, which closed in December, received books for their children to enjoy during the center’s final weeks. Director Nancy James, who recently retired, said the children were allowed to keep a favorite book or two, and the remainder were distributed to the two remaining child care centers.

Photo by J. Intintoli

In addition to Wahl, PKP and ODK student officers Maria Hite, Jared Frazier, Liam McBane, Rachel Booher, and Percy Verret and faculty/staff officers David Foote, Philip E. Phillips, John R. Vile, Gina Logue, Marsha Powers, and Tatum Hochstetler contributed to the literacy project.