By Tara Fischer
Staff Writer
A new Little Free Library is soon coming to Stephen Decatur Park in Berlin. It will be available for parents and park goers to enjoy as their children play, in an effort to encourage reading and sharing stories.
The library box, to be placed near the fenced-in playground at Stephen Decatur Park, is an initiative spearheaded by Stephen Decatur High School sophomore Vincent Schicchi. The young student is a Life Scout in Berlin Troop 225, working toward his Eagle Scout Rank. The book collection site will act as his Eagle Scout project.
The Little Free Library will be small and decorated with waterproof, wood-colored paint to look natural. The Berlin Troop member plans to order a kit to build the box. The library will be made of plywood with a metal roof and cedar posts to ensure it’s structurally sound, and visitors will be encouraged to take and return books during their stops at Stephen Decatur Park.
The box will contain an assortment of children’s and adult books. Schicchi said he intends to ask the Berlin Library if they have any older novels to donate to get him started, in addition to contributions from friends, family, and community members.
Schicchi said that the box’s idea is to encourage Berlin residents to turn to books rather than electronics during their visits to Stephen Decatur Park.
“Many parents who visit the park and take their kids might want to read some literature and need something to do,” he said. “There are a lot of benches at Stephen Decatur Park. It would be great for them to sit down and read while their kids are playing. I think it’s very important to implement reading nowadays since many people are on their cell phones.”
The project is also reminiscent of the scout’s childhood before moving to the Berlin area.
“When I lived in New York, there was a park I would visit a lot, and I remember opening a box and reading books,” Schicchi said. “It brings back some nostalgia, and I just always thought it was very interesting.”
Schicchi said he would fundraise for the money needed to complete the Little Free Library initiative, estimated at around $850 for materials. Schicchi and his mother plan to volunteer their maintenance services, which will include rotating and replacing books as needed.
We Heart Berlin President Tony Weeg, who was in the audience of the June 9 Berlin Mayor and Council meeting where the project was presented, suggested to Schicchi that the base of the library is “thick and heavy so it doesn’t sway or fall forward,” particularly when the ground is wet, as the books will be heavy.
“It needs to be secure at the bottom,” he said.
Berlin Public Works Director Jimmy Charles added that he and his team will be on site when the library box is installed to ensure its structural strength.
The library box will be officially registered with Little Free Library, a nonprofit group based in Minnesota whose mission is to expand access to books in communities throughout the nation. This goal is achieved through the small book lockers, which are open seven days a week, 24 hours a day, and incur no cost, “removing barriers to book access,” their website says.
This week, the Berlin Town Council unanimously approved the Little Free Library at Stephen Decatur Park.
“I think this is a wonderful project and I think it will be very well received by the residents of Berlin,” Councilman Jay Knerr, a fellow Eagle Scout himself, said.