This story was originally published by Reasons to be Cheerful
6 min read
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In this issue
Turning laundromats into libraries
Distributing banned books
Reading alone together
Wash, read, repeat
On the wall of a laundromat in Wyoming, Ohio, a suburb north of Cincinnati, hang four wire baskets filled with books like Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel, Wind Says Good Night, and Mummies in the Morning. Each bears a sticker inviting readers to “Read it, Love it, Pass it on.”
Janice Weiser put up this display in November, making her local laundromat one of more than 200 across the country that are part of the Laundromat Library League, a network that offers up books for young readers in public places where they have down time.
“I just love the idea of having the kids have something to do while they’re there with their parents that maybe isn’t a screen activity,” says Weiser, who restocks the book selection about every 10 days with her co-steward.
Reading in America isn’t as fundamental as it used to be. The amount of time people of all ages spend reading for pleasure has declined by 40 percent over the last two decades. Among children, four in 10 fourth graders are below standard reading levels, with rates as high as 70 percent among lower-income children. Simply lacking access to books is a barrier: Kids from lower-income homes are less likely to have age-appropriate reading material at home.
That’s where public spaces like laundromats come in, explains Phil Tripp, a member of the Laundromat Library League’s board. “We find children where they live, where they spend time,” he says.
The all-volunteer organization launched more than a decade ago when two eastern Pennsylvania residents noticed children tagging along with families to laundromats, only to be plopped down in front of their parents’ phones or tablets. With some donated books and permission from a laundromat owner, the pair set up the first “library,” inviting young patrons to read books from the small display (and take them home if they’d like, free of charge). The idea quickly spread, and, since 2014, a network of locally managed libraries has sprung up across the country.
While the organization offers practical support — like tips for talking to laundromat owners — each library is created and managed locally by volunteers, explains Tripp. The league offers new locations an initial shipment of books, many of which are donated. It has a small budget for buying books, and seeks out selections with ethnic diversity and in multiple languages. The league wants libraries’ offerings to reflect the communities that use them, whether the laundromat is frequented by Spanish-speaking families, or located in a Korean community or on a Native American reservation.
Research shows that making books more readily available in places like laundromats can encourage kids to read. A 2019 study found that when New York City laundromats had “read and play spaces,” children engaged with literacy-related activities 30 times more than in laundromats without those spaces.
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The model seems to be getting books into the hands of children. Over the last decade, the Laundromat Library League has distributed more than 400,000 books across the country, according to Tripp. “The best, best thing that could happen is we get a steward that says, ‘I’m low on books. Can you send me some?’”
In Ohio, Weiser brings a fresh stack of books to the laundromat every 10 days. She’ll clear out magazines and any other stray materials left behind in the racks, and replenish with donated titles she’s collected from her friends and local library.
She started by reaching out to the laundromat’s management. The owner, whose mother worked in education, was enthusiastic. “I remember writing on my to-do list, ‘He said yes,’” she recalls.
Many libraries are just a simple box set on the floor with signage, but in Weiser’s case, the owner preferred a display on the wall. She put up signs in English and Spanish inviting patrons to help themselves. To build up a book supply, she got some from the league, and collected from friends and a Facebook group. Weiser recommends finding a co-steward: She connected with one through that same Facebook post.
“It’s a nice way to put books in kids’ hands,” she says.
Learn more about how to set up a library near you with the Laundromat Library League’s guides on getting started.
Free banned books
More than 23,000 book bans have been implemented in public schools since 2021. Now, some “little free library” stewards are using their tiny stacks to push back.
Since the first little free library was built in Wisconsin in 2009, community members have created more than 200,000 similar book exchange hubs, from which anyone can take or leave a free book. A growing number of stewards are stocking these shelves with banned reading materials — and advertising it to passers-by loud and clear, with special signs notifying browsers that the library stocks banned and challenged books. They can also turn on the “banned books” tag in the Little Free Library organization’s database.
Silent (but social) reading
In cities across the U.S., readers are meeting up to sit and read silently together. Unlike a standard book club, readers come to these meetings with their own selections and enjoy them silently. Those who would like to socialize have some time at the end to mingle and chat.
While these social reading events are proving popular among adults, there’s also evidence that this convivial model boosts literacy among younger readers. When U.K. schools set up social reading clubs, 60 percent of kids said they were more interested in reading after participating.
Get tips for setting up your own social reading group from Silent Book Club.
The post The Spark: Your Laundromat Could Be a Library appeared first on Reasons to be Cheerful.
