On Tuesday, March 11th, Penguin Random House partnered with Little Free Library (LFL) to celebrate a momentous milestone: the installation of the 200,000th Little Free Library at Benjamin E. Mays IB World School, an elementary school located in the historic Rondo neighborhood of St. Paul, MN.
Students who excelled in a recent school-wide reading challenge attended a dedication ceremony featuring remarks from Executive
Director of LFL Greig Metzger and Principal Dr. Kenneth O. Turner Jr., a ribbon-cutting, and story time, which featured All Are Welcome by Alexandra Penfold and Suzanne Kaufman. All 340 K-5 students at the school received PRH books and participated in a dedicated reading session.
St. Paul’s local newspaper, The Pioneer Press, covered the event. Maya Livingstone, Director of Brand Communications & Social Impact at PRH, was also in attendance.
As reported by Molley Guthrey, “The students who checked out the most books at this school were invited to select the first books out of the Little Free Library on Tuesday. That group included [Jakaylah] Reed, who individually has checked out the most books from the school library during the 2024-25 academic year (181 so far) and logged 800 reading minutes at home.
While she held onto her new book and drank from a juice box, Reed considered why she likes books so much. ‘The details and the surprises,’ she said.”
Read the full article here.
The celebration also marks the first of 200 Little Free Libraries being awarded to Title I schools across the country. Each elementary school will receive 200 new books from PRH—a total of more than 40,000 books.
The Little Free Libraries partially sponsored by Books Unbanned and three of its consortium members—San José State University iSchool, Brooklyn Public Library, and The Seattle Public Library—and Mortenson.
Schools were chosen through an application process in which the winners shared inspiring stories about the positive impact a Little Free Library would have on their students. Winning schools included:
- PS189X – Cornerstone Academy for Social Action, Bronx, NY – “Surrounded by fast-food restaurants and auto repair shops, our 269 Pre-K through 5th grade students have limited access to books. A Little Free Library will empower them to build personal libraries at home, develop positive reading habits, and share their love of books with their families.”
- Iditarod Elementary School, Wasilla, AK – “Our resilient students face significant challenges, with 100% qualifying for free and reduced lunch. A Little Free Library will provide more opportunities to engage with books, fostering a lifelong love of reading and supporting literacy development.”
- Somerset Lakes Academy, West Palm Beach, FL – “Many of our students have little to no books at home, and transportation barriers prevent families from reaching the public library. A Little Free Library will serve as a crucial bridge, providing ongoing access to literature for students, their siblings, parents, and the community.”
The original Little Free Library was built in 2009 by founder Todd H. Bol. This 200k milestone library joins their worldwide network, which spans all 50 states, 128 countries, and all seven continents.
Learn more about how you can get involved in the year-long 200k celebration at littlefreelibrary.org/200k.
Originally published by Penguin Random House
