Want to shorten your trip to the Huntley public library? Want to contribute a book to the library? Take a book home to read? Return a book?
Many Sun Citians are readers, and now the Huntley Public Library, with help from an area Eagle Scout candidate, is bringing library services to a Sun City neighborhood.
A Little Free Library was installed September 28 in Sun City’s meadow view neighborhood. It is located on the edge of the Meadow View and Arcadia condo parking lots, between the Arcadia building and the Meadow View outdoor swimming pool.
Vito and Linda Benigno will be stewards of this Little Library near the Meadow View outdoor swimming pool in Sun City. (Photo by Tony Pratt/Sun Day)
The other Huntley locations are in Deicke Park, and one is planned for the Talamore subdivision on the north side of the village. Playing a major role in the effort is Pamela Kampwerth, director of volunteer activities for the Huntley Public Library.
This “Little Library” is a cabinet-style box of books, mounted on a sturdy pole, and posted in the ground. It is the first one in Sun City, and the third one to be located in the Village of Huntley. It is estimated that hundreds of thousands of these little boxes have been installed in communities in dozens of countries in the world.
The architect and builder is Jarrod Choo, a Lake in the Hills student who is constructing the boxes as part of his Eagle Scout requirements.
To obtain the Eagle Scout rank, the highest honor in Boy Scouting, a Scout must develop and build a project that provides tangible benefits to an organization or institution in the community. Cooperating in bringing this project to reality was the Friends of the Huntley Library, a volunteer group that supports various library activities.
Stewards for the Sun City project are Vito and Linda Benigno, residents of Neighborhood 19. They will monitor use of the box and maintain its inventory periodically.
Little Free Libraries are a product of the imagination of Todd Bol of Hudson, Wisconsin. In eight years, his idea has become a world-wide cultural phenomenon. In a book about his idea, Bol said, “These Little Libraries bring books, information, and literacy closer to the community and bring communities together. Come and browse the books you like. Do you have a book to share or give away? Add it to the mix. Take a book, return a book. It sparks a feeling of community, or neighborly conversations.”
