San Antonio Girl Scout Troop Celebrating the City’s 300th Birthday in a Big Way

To celebrate the city of San Antonio’s 300th birthday this year, Girl Scout Troop 300 is taking on an enormous project. They’re outfitting their city with 300 “Little Free Libraries.” Little Free Libraries have gathered steam around the country for the past few years. You may have spotted these cute, handmade, larger-than-a-bird-house-looking structures, filled with books, on the corners in your neighborhood. Little Free Libraries encourage people to take a book and/or leave a book. Little Free Library is a nonprofit organization that inspires a love of reading, builds community, and sparks creativity by fostering neighborhood book exchanges around the world.

Through Little Free Libraries, millions of books are exchanged each year, profoundly increasing access to books for readers of all ages and backgrounds.

Troop 300 Celebrating San Antonio’s 300th with 300 Libraries

Photo: Flickr/Ali Eminov

The girls in San Antonio’s Girl Scout Troop 300 have been busy learning how to build the libraries at local high school wood shops. All of the materials have been donated, as have the books that will be housed in the libraries. So far, a book drive has resulted in over 1,600 books donated for use in the Free Little Libraries. The Girl Scout Troop hopes to place the libraries in areas where access to books and public libraries is limited, ensuring that everyone, no matter their socioeconomic situation, is able to be literate.

Wanna help?

Photo: Facebook/GirlScoutsSWTX

According to Girl Scout Troop 300’s website, the girls “love reading and they want to share that love by reaching individuals who may not have a neighborhood library within walking distance.  Though a few libraries will be placed in their own neighborhoods for pride’s sake, the majority will be placed in communities where methods of transportation to and from libraries might be more difficult.”

The Girl Scout Troop is still raising funds for this important project and hopes to have Little Free Libraries up and in use by early 2018. To learn more or to donate your time, materials, or books, go here.