Readings from Asbury Park
City's first Little Free Library to be unveiled Wednesday
After months of working to secure funds to purchase official Little Free Libraries, locations for them to be placed in the city, and books to fill them, city resident Anita Weiner is set to reveal the first Little Free Library at the corner of Springwood and Atkins avenue during an unveiling ceremony beginning at 11 a.m.
The library itself was recently placed at the site, just to the right of the door to the senior apartments in the Springwood Center and residents have already begun to use it. There are about 20 books in the library, including a couple from well-known author Danielle Steel.
“People are already utilizing it,” Weiner said. “Mostly children’s books are the most popular so far.”
The traditional style tattoo designs and lettering on the yellow and blue library [shown at top] were done by local artists Patrick Dean, Christopher Smith, Chuck Ordino, Pete Pedersen and Erik Schmidt from Neptune Tattooville. One side of the box shows a heart with a banner that reads “books,” on the other side is a cabbage rose with a banner that says “read.” On the roof of the library, scripted letters show “Readings from Asbury Park.”
As the curator of the library, Weiner is in charge of checking in on the library and making sure the books are age-appropriate. She wants to make sure they are all “PG or G-rated,” she said. In terms of the drop-off logistics, she would like to see if it is possible to put a box within the city’s Muncipal Complex, that way she can filter titles before they are placed if need be, she said.
Three more Little Lending Libraries will be placed in the city in the weeks to come, she said.
One was delivered to the Asbury Park Unit of the Boys and Girls Clubs, she said. Pver the course of the week club kids will be decorating the box and it will eventually be placed in the club’s front yard within the next two weeks, she said.
Local restauranteur Marilyn Schlossbach is working to get one decorated and placed on the boardwalk near her flagship restaurant Langosta Lounge and Words! bookstore owner Jan Sparrow is working with Big Brothers Big sisters to decorate one that Weiner hopes to have placed near the south bound side of the Asbury Park transportation center.
“I’m so exited we’ve got one up, I can’t want to have four,” Weiner said.
Councilwoman Amy Quinn; Robert Weiner from Monmouth SCORE; city resident Christina White; Roger Boyce, director of Interfaith Neighbor’s Business Development Center; Paul McEvily associate executive director of Interfaith Neighbor’s; City Engineer Joe Cunha; Robert Bianchini, , deputy director of the city’s public works department; and Janet Torsney, director of the Bradley Beach Public Library, played integral parts in helping Weiner get the Little Free Library movement in Asbury Park started, she said.
“I’m really proud to support this project,” said Councilwoman Amy Quinn. “Having little libraries around town to promote literacy and community is exactly the type of projects I want to help advance. Anita Weiner and city’s DPW have done great job in getting this project off the ground.”
Through the Little Free Library site, folks around the globe can purchase a ready-made library or the materials and instructions to construct and design their own library. The site also contains downloadable architectural plans for anyone handy enough to construct a little library using their own materials—additional creativity in design is highly encouraged. Once built and filled with books, the mini library can be registered through the organization who will ship an official Little Free Library sign and mark it on their worldwide map.
Weiner had approached the City Council with the idea to bring the mini lending libraries to Asbury Park in October.
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