If you’re an avid reader and enjoy getting books for free, the third floor of Savitz Hall has just the place to satisfy both of those needs.

Since July 2019, there has been a chartered Little Free Library (LFL) next to the academic success center on the third floor of Savitz Hall, providing free books to the Rowan community that have been donated. 

A LFL is a way for anyone to take or share books. It works under an honor system, and while it is not required to share a book in order to take one it is highly encouraged. LFL relies on donations for the inventory of books and a steward who acts as the primary caretaker in keeping the library clean and in fair condition. 

The steward of Savitz Hall’s LFL is Lara Roberts LeBeau, the assistant director of testing services. LeBeau got the idea from fellow colleague John Woodruff, director of the academic success center and disabilities resources.

“[Woodruff] told me that he has a little free library on his lawn. And he said, you know, ‘you should look into it.’ So I went online and I looked up the little free library, and I thought it was so cool,” LeBeau said. “This is actually an official Little Free Library, which means that it’s on the map. There’s a pin on it. If you go to the Little Free Library website, we have our we have our number here, the charter number, and the M actually designates this as a mobile little free library.”

While the LFL does not solicit people’s old textbooks, they occasionally end up there. But for the most part, the shelves are made up of recreational books like nonfiction, fiction, cooking books, mystery and other popular genres. 

“I mean, who doesn’t like free stuff, first of all, and second of all, there’s everything here. So regardless of what type of a reader you are, I think there’s probably something for just about everybody in here,” LeBeau said. “There’s also a variety of reading levels in there. We have everything from children’s young adults, adult books, fantasy, murder mysteries, [and] romances.”

What started off as just a copy paper box has become two bookshelves with three shelves each, filled with books that are continually coming and going. The next time you are in need of a new book, try exploring what the Rowan LFL has to offer and gift someone else the experience of reading a book you enjoyed.

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