Sophomore Caty Staley walks to the front yard of a house, just a short distance away from her home and there seems to be a large white birdhouse. She walks to the structure and pulls open the door. The white “birdhouse” is actually a small community library. Caty open the plastic Wal-Mart bag she is holding that contains six books and stuffs the first book, Killing Kelly by Heather Graham, into the library, despite it being almost full.
Inside of this small library, on 812 Silverthorne Trail in Highland Village, taking up almost every square inch are books piled on top of each other. New books come and go every day, which means the library is almost always full of different selections. The stories can be grabbed during a quick jog or on the way to work or school. The books range from Stephen King-like dramas or learning and giggles from Dr. Seuss, so any preference of writing always has the potential to be in there. Kelly Heslep, owner of this “Little Free Library,” wanted to give back to the community she has lived in for so long.
“I thought it would be a great way to meet even more of our neighbors and bring our community closer together,” Heslep said. “Plus, I love to read.”
Kelly Heslep also built this library to meet other people in the neighborhood. Neighbors can drive or walk down the street and grab a book, which can help them meet and interact with other people around the community. It also has books for all ages so parents who are walking with their kids can grab a book for them to read together.
This new community library gives the neighbors of Kelly Heslep the ability to look at a small but wide variety of books to choose from. A neighbor of Heslep lives near the library and has donated books many times.
“I feel that this new library is great because it can help younger generations and even older generations actually pick up a book,” sophomore Caty Staley said.
The books are free too, so there’s no worry about having to return any that are pick up. This means that if not enough people bring books, and too many people take them, there won’t be as wide of a range as there is now. Kelly Heslep has her own idea on how taking-and-leaving the books should work.
“Take a book, leave a book. Or two, or four,” Heslep said. “It’s a little full right now.”
