With the nearest library 15 miles away, this Centre County community has a ‘little’ solution
For years, Christine Surovec wanted to fill a void by bringing a library to the Mountaintop Region. With some help from the community and innovative thinking, her dream has become a reality.
Last month, Clarence’s first Little Free Library was installed at the corner of Clarence Road and Church Street. One of thousands of registered little libraries, the Clarence Little Free Library was built by the Central Pennsylvania Institute of Science and Technology and installed by members of Surovec’s family.
“I really, really wanted one, and I can’t believe that it’s an actuality,” she said. “You can call it a bucket list item, and I have finally checked it off.”
Little Free Library is a nonprofit organization that aims to inspire “a love of reading,” according to its mission statement. Fostering neighborhood book exchanges around the world, over a million books are estimated to be exchanged worldwide each year. A retired Pattee and Paterno Library employee and Pleasant Gap resident, Surovec thought the project would fill a need in a community where the closest library is about 15 miles away.
“It belongs to everyone up there — everyone,” she said. “It’s just a community thing that will make books readily available without you having to find a friend to borrow books from.”
The library was installed on Nov. 26 — just in time for winter, Surovec said.
“We were very fortunate,” she said. “It was a sunny day in the 50s, probably the only one we had in November, so it was meant to be. Winter’s coming, so what else do you do but a lot of reading? I’m hoping the children will get really excited about reading and that their parents will support it as well.”
With help from CPI, Snow Shoe Township, the Bellefonte Women’s Club, Queen of Archangels Catholic Church and Clarence residents, the library will be restocked with books and monitored for damages.
“We are going to make sure that the books placed in there are not textbooks or cookbooks,” Surovec said. “It’s going to be enjoyable reading for everyone of every age.”
A “lover of libraries,” Surovec said the Little Free Library offers an accessibility other libraries do not.
“I just think it’s the best, and you can go anytime,” she said. “There are no hours, no fees, and you don’t have to return it.”
This story was originally published December 9, 2019 at 9:56 AM.
