In cooperation with the Siloam Springs Library, John Brown University and the Siloam Springs Museum, Main Street Siloam Springs unveiled a pair of new public installations this weekend. Called "Librarrows," the installations are small libraries that work on a take-a-book-leave-a-book system. One is located on University Street in City Park, and the other can be found in Twin Springs Park at the end of Broadway Street.
The miniature libraries are the culmination of years of effort, said Kelsey Howard, Executive Director of Main Street Siloam Springs. The project began during Meredith Bergstrom's time at the nonprofit, and was funded by a grant awarded in 2016 by the Arkansas Arts Council.
"The Librarrows will only be as good as the community makes it," Howard said, emphasizing that the installations were not places to offload unwanted books, but to send well-loved books forward to someone new that could enjoy them.
"Think carefully about what you put in there so we can all contribute," Howard said. "It's an opportunity to share stories and resources that (people) have enjoyed."
Main Street Siloam Springs commissioned local artist Dayton Castleman to create the installations, which resemble an arrow pointing downward, with the tip buried into the ground. The blue wooden book containers resemble the arrow's vanes.
After having the arrows constructed, Howard said the organization felt the kickoff to the library's summer reading program made a perfect time to unveil the new installations. Howard also made sure the arrows were stocked with books that matched the library's theme of building a better world.
As part of the unveiling, kids from the summer reading were asked what it would look like if they were to build their own micro-libraries. The kids then got to make their own tiny libraries out of craft supplies, and explain how they would store the books.
In addition to books that match the theme of the summer reading program, the book boxes were initially stocked with a wide variety of reading material. There were books that matched the museum's upcoming special exhibit on World War I, along with some flyers for the exhibit, reference books, fiction and non-fiction.
Howard said the museum had also donated books on the history of Siloam Springs, and there were also Spanish language books, though all of those had been taken by Monday morning, with the exception of a single children's soccer book.
Howard said the plan is to keep the Librarrows stocked with books in English, Spanish and Marshallese, though she said there was some difficulty finding books that were not in English. Howard said there are talks of co-operating with the Dogwood Literacy Council to help find a solution.
JBU students will also help maintain the Librarrows. Howard said that when school is back in session, English majors will help maintain the Librarrows' collections by monitoring the content and restocking the books if necessary. The collections will also be updated to reflect upcoming events, like a new museum exhibit or visiting authors and speakers.
Main Street has plans to eventually build a third installation, this time near the campus of JBU. Howard also said the organization will donate a bench where people can sit and read next to the City Park location. The Librarrow in Twin Springs Park is located next to an existing bench.
General News on 06/14/2017