A 5-year-old Columbus girl has donated 130 books to a local program that distributes free books to kids throughout the community.
The 130-book donation was part of 1,200 books distributed so far this year by the Bartholomew County Public Book Express, according to program coordinator and outreach librarian Sandy Allman.
In June, the program received 130 books that were donated by the same individual — 5-year-old Lily Frasier of Columbus.
When Lily’s fifth birthday rolled around in June, she didn’t come to her mother, Jenny, with a list of present ideas. She came to her with an idea.
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“Basically, Lily did not need any toys or anything for her birthday and so she decided that she wanted to donate, instead of receive presents," Jenny said. "So we had a book party. And all of the books we got from that, plus lots that Lily cleaned off of her shelf, we donated for her birthday. And we had friends give us books to donate, too.”
At the beginning of June, Jenny and Lily reached out to the library to see if they knew of any programs that were in need of book donations. This led them to the Book Express program.
"We are very grateful to Lillian and her family and friends for this generous donation," Allman said. "Our program relies upon community grants and donations such as this to provide literacy opportunities to those who might not be able to purchase their own books."
She said that the Book Express program has also received grants from the Reeves Foundation and donations from senior projects, as well as support from Kiwanis and the Literacy Task Force. The Book Express was originally started by the task force after the flood of 2008 and the library took it over in 2018, Allman said.
This summer, the Book Express has been visiting Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. meal sites to distribute free books to kids. By the end of July, they will have visited each site twice, according to Allman.
The program also visits other sites such as the Community Center of Hope, Love Chapel centers, Salvation Army centers, food pantries and Section 8 housing neighborhoods.
The Book Express visits schools and preschools as well, though this may change in the 2020-21 school year. Right now, both BCSC and the Flat Rock-Hawcreek School Corp. are planning to only allow "essential visitors" into their buildings because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Allman said that donations to the Book Express are always welcome.
"We might go through 100 books in one or two stops," Allman said. "So they fly out as quick as we get them. So the more books we have, the more stops we can do."
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- Monday, 12-12:45 p.m. — Elizabethtown Library
- Tuesday, 12-12:45 p.m. — Central Middle School
- Wednesday, 12-12:45 p.m. — Mt. Healthy Elementary
- Thursday, 12-12:45 p.m. — BCSC Administration Building
There is also a map of Book Express visits and dates available on the library’s website at https://mybcpl.org/book-express. The map will be updated as new visits are scheduled.
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Those wishing to donate to the Book Express should contact Sandy Allman. Her office number is 812-379-1278 and her email address is [email protected].
Allman said that kids’ most requested book series are:
- Dog Man
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid
- Harry Potter
- Captain Underpants
- Percy Jackson
- Dork Diaries
- Junie B. Jones
- Magic Tree House
- Pete the Cat
- Hunger Games
- Splat the Cat
- Dr. Seuss
"We always need leveled Easy Readers and Spanish or Spanish/English bilingual books, as well as board books for babies," she added.
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