Little Free Library unveiled at William S. Gussner Elementary School in Jamestown
May 25—JAMESTOWN — A "Dog Man" Little Free Library was unveiled Thursday, May 23, at William S. Gussner Elementary School in Jamestown.
"The beauty of it is it will provide for the whole community," said Luke Anderson, principal at William S. Gussner Elementary School.
Gussner Elementary School was one of 50 schools across the U.S. to be granted a "Dog Man" Little Free Library as part of Scholastic Corp. and Little Free Library's "Power Up with Reading" initiative.
"Being one of only 50 in the United States is really impressive to be chosen for something like that," said Danielle Westerhausen, member of the Gussner Elementary PTO. "We are really excited because Gussner and all elementary schools in Jamestown do really focus on literacy, and during summer months I think we certainly see children reading less so we feel like the timing of this was really great."
Gussner Elementary School also received 1,000 books that were donated by Dav Pilkey, author and illustrator of the "Dog Man" book series. Each Gussner student received a copy of the newest book, "Dog Man: The Scarlet Shredder."
Westerhausen said some of those books will be delivered to other elementary schools this fall.
"That's such a popular series and we know that other children will love it," she said, referring to the "Dog Man" series.
Little Free Library is a nonprofit organization with a mission to expand book access for everyone through a global network of volunteer-led Little Free Library book-exchange boxes, according to its website.
Scholastic is the world's largest publisher and distributor of children's books, a leading provider of literacy curriculum, professional services and classroom magazines, and a producer of educational and entertaining children's media, according to its website.
Westerhausen said the Little Free Library is ready for summer for kids to use.
The Little Free Library is a small wooden structure designed to hold books that can be borrowed. The Little Free Library holds anywhere from 20 to 30 books depending on the size and whether they are chapter or children's books, Westerhausen said.
She said the Little Free Library works on an honor system of "take a book and leave a book."
"As people take books, the hope is that they would bring a book that they no longer need or would like to share with others so that it is a self-sustaining library," Westerhausen said.
A library card is not needed to use the Little Free Library and there's no limit on how long the books can be borrowed.
Anderson said it's OK if a student doesn't have a book to leave at the Little Free Library.
"That's why we continue to populate it with the books they shared," he said. "One of our teacher's kids is going to be monitoring it over the summer to make sure it stays full so that students can always have access (to books) and an opportunity to read."
The Little Free Library at Gussner Elementary School can be found on the Little Free Library mobile app.
"Hopefully we get people from all over visiting our library," Westerhausen said.
She said Gussner Elementary PTO submitted a grant application, which included how the location of the Little Free Library would benefit the community.
"We completed the application and we got notice that we were the chosen site in North Dakota," she said.
Anderson said he appreciates the work of the Gussner Elementary PTO and its dedication to all Jamestown students.
"They help in a ton of ways," he said. "It (the Little Free Library) is just one more way they are giving back to the whole community, not just Gussner."
