Frederick Douglass
Neighborhood Association
Brockton, Massachusetts
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ILittle Free Library Project - MAY 5 INSTALLATION DAY!
On May 5, 2015 we introduced our Little Free Library Project to Brockton! Joining us were the students of Southeastern Vo-Tech, Eduardo, Ryan and Denzel - the install team! We were joined by our sponsors and artists, and everyone who has worked so hard on this inspirational project - The Boys and Girls Club, The Family Center, LoveALLiance Church, FDNA members and members of the City Mayor's Office. Rev. Jill Wiley of Messiah Baptist Church, the artist of our quilt-themed LFL, spoke to the crowd about the inspiration for her design. Lynn Smith, Treasurer of the FDNA, welcomed the children in attendance to place the inaugural books into the LFL.
Then, so the children of the Family Center could participate, we had another unveiling On May 27th at 3:00p in Finnegan Park; and so the students of the Torch Club could join in, a third unveiling in the park next to the Boys and Girls Club on May 20th at 4 pm.
Come have some fun with us! And bring a book to donate to your favorite LFL!
LFLs are located in Finnegan Park next to the telephone building on Crescent at Montello; in the Douglass Garden on Frederick Douglass Avenue at Paddy Lane; in the park next to the Boys and Girls Club on Warren Ave close to Belmont; and on City Hall Plaza between city hall and the garage, on VFW Parkway.
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On January 19, 2015, the Martin Luther King Jr holiday, a day of service, members of the Frederick Douglass Neighborhood Association (FDNA) are excited to announce that by the spring of 2015 they plan to install four “Little Free Libraries” (LFL) in various locations in the vicinity of Frederick Douglass Avenue in downtown Brockton.
Little Free Libraries (LFL) are wooden boxes typically built in the shape of houses. They are located where anyone walking by may pick up a book (or two) and exchange another book to share with others.
A coalition of partners will be involved in building, installing and maintaining the four diminutive structures. Students of Southeastern Regional Vocational Technical School are in charge of design and construction; and members of FDNA, the Boys and Girls Club, Community Connections of Brockton, and Love ALLiance Church are volunteering to add colorful paint and architectural details and stock the libraries/boxes with donated books.
The installation of our four LFLs is scheduled for May 5, 2015, from 11 am to 12 noon. Check our Facebook page for updates on weather, locations, etc.
More information about the Library Projects across the U.S. is at the bottom of this page.
JANUARY 2015: Southeastern Regional Vocational Technical School creates our LFLs
Keon Scott attaches a knob
Keon and Nicolas Ross adjust door
Mr. Raimondo and Mr. Blanchard supervise
Four LFLs just need that finishing touch!
FEBRUARY 2015: LFLs are delivered to our nonprofit partners for decorative paint
Here are some random images from around the Web on some beautifully decorated LFLs in various U.S. locations.
MARCH 2015: our artists are hard at work decorating our four LFLs. Here is a peek at one work of art in progress.
The first Little Free Library was built in 2009 by a Wisconsin man to honor his schoolteacher mother who loved reading. It was a model of a one-room schoolhouse that he put on a post in his front yard with a sign on it saying “Free Books.” The idea caught on and by January 2014, the number of registered Little Free Libraries in the world was conservatively estimated at nearly 15,000. The website http://littlefreelibrary.org/ shows many photos of LFL and identifies where most are located, including sites in Massachusetts such as Dedham, Needham, North Attleboro and Cambridge.
While the Little Free Libraries movement is not part of the local public library system, the FDNA sees its LFL project as a unique way to promote the cause of reading for which Frederick Douglass was a shining symbol in his life’s work as a noted author, journalist and speaker.
Frederick Douglass was convinced at an early age that reading was his way out of slavery. As it was illegal to teach slaves to read in the 1800s, Douglass learned innovative ways to learn: he would snatch up scraps of newspapers from the ground, for example, and read them when no one was looking. There is an outstanding Public Library here in Brockton that everyone should be proud of. These small houses are simply another way to make books accessible to folks on a whim as they pass one by.
Louis Lemieux, pastor of the Love ALLiance Church in downtown Brockton, one of the partners in this project, summed his congregation’s involvement up this way: “We love the opportunity to create pockets of community in our neighborhood. This is one way to bring people out of the isolation of their daily life to discovering, sharing and discussing the books they have found in the little libraries. In this way a Little Free Library can have a large impact on the culture of our neighborhood.”
April, 2015: We present our request to the City of Brockton
Parks Commission to allow us to install our libraries where children and adults can enjoy them while in our parks.
The Parks Commission says YES !
Mr. Douglass in his office in Haiti.
Photo courtesy of the National Park Service.
To the left, in the park at the corner of Montello and Crescent Streets, next to the telephone company building and across the street from the Family Resource Center.
To the the right, next to the Boys and Girls Club in the park at Belmont and Warren.
The Love ALLiance LFL will reflect the four seasons.
The Torch Club of the Boys and Girls Club of Brockton will honor Frederick Douglass and our city's boxing history on their LFL.
A montage of our four LFLs, taken by Andy P. One theme is The Four Seasons, one is Helping Hands, one is Quilts Tell a Story, and one is The Torch Club Lights the Way.
