Hey Dundalk! Little Free Libraries are popping in your neighborhood and favorite Dundalk establishments. Keep your eyes peeled for 11 Little Free Libraries that have been installed around town, including places like Joanna’s Café, Little Crystal Bijoux and Sollers Point Multi Purpose Center. Thanks to our wonderful neighbors, we have libraries in DunLogan, Bear Creek, Inverness, St. Helena, Old Dundalk, Norwood and Turner Station.
“I was excited to connect with my neighbors in a new way! Books have always been a way to for me to learn about the world but I hope the libraries also gives us a physical place to meet more of our neighbors and share excitement over finding a great book to read or sharing a book we’ve enjoyed with someone else,” Alex Montanio, a member of the Dundalk Cares steering committee and former Dundalk Renaissance board chair, said. “I’m particularly excited that we’ve been able to curate a collection of stories to share that feature characters and authors from diverse backgrounds. It is so important that the next generation of readers in Dundalk have access to books that reflect the breadth of experience of folks in our community.”
Neighbors came together to help assemble the Little Free Libraries. Janae and Jeremiah Dixon of the Turner Station Girl Scout Troop 353 and Boy Scout Pack 270 helped assemble a Little Free Library in Turners Station when asked why they were volunteering their time, they said “We helped with the little library because we wanted to give knowledge to all children and people because it’s power and it’s one of those things that can never be taken from you. We were most excited about the glow in the dark painting and putting the designs on the library.” 
Each library is uniquely decorated by volunteers and filled with books that feature strong Black/African-American characters and/or messages of anti-racism. Thereafter, all books with positive messages are welcome. Help us keep the library stocked by donating gently used or new books to your nearest Little Free Library. Not sure what to donate? You can view our wish list online.
Looking for a local small business to support? You can check out Then and Again in the Dundalk Main Street, or support Everyone’s Place African Cultural Center, which is where the first round of books was purchased for this project. Read more about the bookstore and cultural center.
“I am excited about the Little Libraries in Dundalk because I have a passion for reading and books and I feel like a book can bring so much joy to a person. I think this initiative is a great activity for community building,” Arkia Gowins-Wade, Co-Troop Leader of the Turner Station Girl Scout Troop 353 and Board Member of the Turner Station Conservation Teams said. “We have had several residents and friends of Turner Station donate so many books to our two little libraries. The community has really come together on this project and given a variety of books even in Spanish.”
Would you like to expand this work, get involved, or fund a Little Free Library?
Connect with us: amanda@dundalkUSA.org
Special Thanks to:
The Nora Roberts Foundation for funding 3 Little Free Libraries and the first round of books
The Brown Family Fund for funding 3 Little Free Libraries
The Montanio family for funding a Little Free Library and agreeing to host their own
Little Crystal Bijoux for funding their own Little Free Library
The CCBC Foundation for funding and hosting their own Little Free Library (slated to be installed this Fall)
Gordon Feinblatt for funding a Little Free Library
Anne Arundel County librarian, Ashley Rogers for curating the books waiting for young readers in our Little Free Libraries. Ashley is a long-serving volunteer for Dundalk Renaissance and a member of Dundalk Cares. (Thank you, Ashley!)
And all of our Little Free Library hosts who have agreed to maintain their Little Free Library spaces into the future!