Guest Post by Lauren Church, Detroit Little Free Library Steward
Have you ever seen a small box, on a post, maybe shaped like a house, with a door? If you have, it may have been filled with books. This is a little free library, a place for books to be given and taken freely. These libraries are in front of school and in parks. Some of your neighbors probably have them in front of their home.
I’m Lauren, and I fill and repair little free libraries in Detroit. I have done this for about six years now. It started the winter of 2019, when I was trying to figure out what to do for Christmas presents for friends and family. No one really needed anything and the idea of giving stuff for the sake of giving stuff bothered me. I instead thought of buying books for the little house-shaped boxes I’d seen in my neighborhood. I wrote in my Christmas cards, “In lieu of gifts, this year we are making donations of books to our local little free libraries.” A love affair was born.
I was given an opportunity to expand my efforts not a few months later, when the world shut down due to Covid. As soon as I got word that the illness could not spread from physical objects, I knew books were safe and got to work. First, we put up our own little free library. Then I started making a list of all of the boxes I could find in and around Detroit, so I could start to fill them with books. That list has grown to over 100 libraries and I’ve been able to visit and fill all of them at least twice over the following years. We’ve also worked to repair the libraries. Some of them have needed new doors, fresh plexiglass, or an entire roof. These libraries needed a steward – a role I was happy to fill (and ask my handy husband to support on occasion.)
But my efforts could not happen alone. Fred Rogers famously said, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.” I’m fortunate to have found my helpers in the form of the team behind Rx For Reading, from the University of Detroit Mercy. Led by Mary-Catherine Harrison and a team of student coordinators, Rx For Reading has been a huge supporter of my efforts, giving me thousands of books over the years to place in libraries throughout the city. A majority of Detroit’s little free libraries are in front of Detroit Public Schools, so I supply a lot of children’s books – and I’m able to do that thanks to Rx For Reading.
A memory I reflect on a lot is from when I was filling up a library in front of an elementary school. A car pulled into the parking lot and a little boy burst out, running up to me. In my hands were several books, but most notably a very large hardcover Star Wars Lego book that talked about all the different characters in their toy brick forms. “Can I have that book?!” the little boy said, breathlessly. “Of course!” I said, handing him the book. “YES!” In his arms, the book was nearly a third of his size, but seemed not nearly as large as the grin on his face. He ran back to his mom’s car.
I hope that there have been thousands of those moments over the years. And I hope there are thousands more to come.
Thank you to Lauren for your time, energy, and enduring commitment to kids in our community!
As a senior nursing student at the University of Detroit Mercy, my community health practicum focused on creating healthy bedtime routines for children age 3-5 who are at risk of developing health disparities related to living at or below the poverty line. Our goal was to develop appropriate interventions to help families establish nighttime routines that support healthy sleep behaviors.
A major component of a good sleep routine is reading out loud to children before they go to bed. However, many of the children we worked with do not own books of their own. We needed to help give their families the tools necessary to carry out healthy sleep routines.
On Detroit’s northwest side neighborhood of Brightmoor, Rx for Reading provided a beautiful collection of high-quality books to Brightmoor Book Squad (BBS). Over the course of two months, Kids ages 1-12 came twice a week for an hour to read together, discuss what they read, complete fun related crafts, and share a healthy snack. The students also chose books to bring home, read, and keep.
This year Rx for Reading gave a collection of 180 books to 30 fantastic kids in River Rouge. The Hyacinth Court Summer program provides free day camp for children age 7 to 14 who live in River Rouge public housing. Campers and their families are provided with free breakfast and lunch each day, and campers participate in an array of enrichment and academic activities and take weekly field trips to educational sites in Metro Detroit.
After reading and sharing books at camp this summer the kids will get to choose books they want to take home and keep. Thanks to the Wayne Metropolitan Community Action Agency for including Rx for Reading in the summer fun!
Thanks to our new partnership with 
Every day is a day for children and a day for books. Happy Día!
Nursing major Heather Galli and English and Education major Paige Olekszyk braved the winter weather to deliver the bookcase and books. They were able to fit 365 books onto the book shelves–one for every day of the year. Special thanks to Emilie Wetherington, Director of Disability Support Services at University of Detroit Mercy, for her donation of the bookcase.
Clinical Director Sheri Pickover, Ph.D., LPC spoke to the value of incorporating Rx for Reading into the clinic’s work: “The opportunity to access free reading material provides the children and adults who come to the Counseling Clinic with an improved waiting room experience and a way to obtain often expensive books. The Counseling Clinic is grateful for the ability to offer our clients these resources.”
Rx for Reading Detroit 
