A nonprofit organization serving the south suburbs has a big goal of promoting literacy with the opening of a Little Free Library in Harvey. Unlike traditional libraries, the Little Free Library is open seven days a week, 24 hours a day, and readers may keep and donate books, said Camille Garrett, a member of Top Ladies of Distinction Will County Black Diamond Chapter, which established the library. The Little Free Library is a book exchange box in Gloria Taylor Park next to the Gloria Taylor Banquet Hall at 14821 S. Broadway Ave. It’s big enough to hold about 30 books and contains books for children, youth and adults. Garrett, of Country Club Hills, helped lead the initiative to open the library in late November while serving as chair of the Literacy Committee of Top Ladies of Distinction Will County Black Diamond Chapter. The organization seeks “to promote reading and make it accessible and free right in the middle of the community where you can select books at any time of day from any community,” said Garrett. “It’s an open and free library to any and everyone. “It’s getting back to the basics. Everything is so digital these days. Our hope is to promote literacy on every level.” The Harvey library is part of St. Paul, Minnesota-based Little Free Library, a nonprofit with a global network of 200,000 registered volunteer-led book-sharing boxes in all 50 states and 128 countries. Its mission is to be a catalyst for building community, inspiring readers and expanding book access for all, according to its website. More than 400 million books have been shared through the libraries since the nonprofit was founded in 2012. It grants Little Free Libraries filled with books to underserved communities through its Impact Library and Indigenous Library programs and champions diverse books through its Read in Color initiative. It is a member of the Banned Books Week Coalition, an international alliance of diverse organizations committed to increasing awareness about censorship attempts and to encourage the defense of the freedom to read. Other coalition members include the American Library Association and the National Council of Teachers of English, the coalition website notes. The mission of the Will County Black Diamond Chapter is to make a positive difference in communities through service. Its focus areas include service to teens, seniors and women; community beautification; and community partnerships, said chapter President Tracey Walker-Hines. The Little Free Library in Gloria Taylor Park, Hinsdale. (Top Ladies of Distinction Will County Black Diamond Chapter) The chapter is part of the national Top Ladies of Distinction, which has more than 125 chapters across the U.S., more than 7,500 members and approximately 3,500 teen members. The Will County Black Diamond Chapter has about 60 members and roughly 40 teen members, Walker-Hines said. The library initiatives across the country are designed to address the literacy crisis in the U.S. According to the National Literacy Institute: More than one in five adults in the U.S. are illiterate based on 2024 data. 54% of adults have a literacy proficiency below a sixth grade level. 20% of adults have a literacy proficiency below fifth grade level. The more books in or near the home, the more likely a child will learn and love to read. But 61% of U.S. children living at or below the poverty line have no books at home, according to the nonprofit Reading is Fundamental. By providing greater, more equitable book access, the Little Free Library network is working to influence literacy outcomes and strengthen communities, the network notes. “We hope to have children learn a love of reading,” said Walker-Hines, an elementary school teacher. “Reading provides so much empowerment.” Top Ladies of Distinction Will County Black Diamond Chapter held a book drive ahead of the Harvey library’s opening and collected roughly 200 books, said Garrett. The chapter will manage and maintain the library, adding books as needed. Here’s how it works: You walk up to the Little Free Library, and if you have books to share, open the door and put the books inside, and if you want to enjoy a book, you can take it to keep. “It’s an opportunity for you to donate and give back,” said Garrett. “You can take books that you enjoy and enjoy them and share with anyone else.” Camille Garrett, who chaired the Literacy Committee of the chapter, with Drema Lee Woldman. (Top Ladies of Distinction Will County Black Diamond Chapter) The chapter received pivotal help from Cook County Commissioner Kisha McCaskill in finding a public location in Harvey, Garrett said. By being in a public park, next to a banquet hall, it will have good visibility and an opportunity for more visitors to use the books, Garrett said. Among other activities the chapter has engaged in is the production of video vignettes of its members reading to children. The videos were added to a video library on the national Top Ladies of Distinction’s website, Garrett said. The chapter also helps prepare its teen members to participate in an annual Black History Bowl competition involving chapters across the country. The chapter gave away coats to Taft Elementary School children in Joliet last month and, working with Court Appointed Special Advocates of Cook County, fulfilled Christmas wish lists for foster care children. On the agenda for the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday weekend were plans to visit and give treats to first responders. The chapter holds sickle cell awareness blood drives. It also holds an annual Hope in a Suitcase event. Regarding that event, Walker-Hines noted many children in foster care transport their belongings in trash bags when transitioning to foster homes. To address that, each year the organization solicits donations of new or gently used, high-quality luggage that they provide to foster care children to lift their spirits and help give them a sense of ownership, dignity and hope as they make their transitions. Lynwood resident Drema Lee Woldman, for whom the Little Free Library in Harvey was dedicated. She is a former national president of Top Ladies of Distinction Inc. (Top Ladies of Distinction Will County Black Diamond Chapter) The chapter’s Little Free library is dedicated to Lynwood resident Drema Lee Woldman in recognition of her life of service. Her community involvement and volunteer efforts include being a life member of the NAACP and the National Council of Negro Women, where she organized the South Suburban Chicago Section and served as president. In 2020, Woldman organized 145 outstanding women to form the Chicago Metropolitan Chapter of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, where she served as its charter president, and is a board member. She is a life member of Top Ladies of Distinction and a member of the national board. She has held many other roles in the organization including serving as national president from 2015-2019 during which time she chartered 17 chapters. The first chapter she chartered during her administration was the Will County Black Diamond Chapter. Garrett said the chapter hopes to establish more Little Free Libraries. For more information on the chapter, visit wcblackdiamondtlod.org, and for more information on Little Free Library, visit littlefreelibrary.org. Francine Knowles at [email protected] is a freelance columnist for the Daily Southtown. ...read more read less