News Flash

April 9th is National Library Outreach Day, so we’re celebrating by visiting Little Free Libraries around the county with outreach librarian Kelsey Frey and the WoW! Bookmobile.

Little Free Libraries took over the nation in the 2010s, popping up in neighborhoods and community gathering places. Roanoke County Parks and Recreation along with the Public Library installed nine in parks around the county in 2009. The libraries were built as part of an Eagle Scout project and painted by local schools.

One of the things I was most excited about for our outing was getting into the parks! I had actually never been to ANY of the parks we visited. These were my favorite things about each park, in case you haven’t been either:

• Starkey Park: There’s a short trail that connects the park to South County Library and loops around the wetlands.
• Garst Mill: The stream that runs through it is a perfect babbling brook!
• Vinyard Park: Underway is a greenway extension connecting to the Glade Creek Greenway. (Shameless plug, we talked about it on the last Out of the Office podcast episode.)

All of the Little Free Libraries were easy to find in the parks, too. It was fun to peak in and see what people have donated. There was a good mix of classics, contemporary and children’s books in the ones we visited. And as Kelsey points out, they’re a great way to engage with materials 24/7.

If you’re looking for a new book, or have a few to share, check out our Little Free Libraries. You can also find where the Bookmobile will be next here!

Watch the full Little Free Library video on YouTube.

Em Poertner is Roanoke County's Public Information Specialist. She hosts the Out of the Office podcast and Roam RoCo video series. If you have ideas for something to explore around Roanoke County, email her at epoertner@roanokecountyva.gov.