For Immediate Release: 01/31/17

Contact: Mandy White, Chatham Reads, mandy@cefmail.org

www.chathamreads.org

Chatham Reads Places Eight Little Libraries Throughout Chatham County

Chatham Reads is a partnership led by Chatham County Schools and the Chatham Education Foundation partnering with other local community organizations including Chatham County Literacy Council, Chatham County Partnership for Children, Chatham County Public Libraries, Communities In Schools of Chatham County, Chatham County Commissioners, Chatham Economic Development Corporation, The Learning Trail, RWA of North Carolina, Reach Out and Read, United Way of Chatham County, Chatham Connecting, Uplift Chatham, YMCA of the Triangle, Boys and Girls Club of Central Carolina, Triangle Community Foundation and others to bring awareness of literacy to the community.

The mission of Chatham Reads is to foster community partnerships that are dedicated to ensuring that literacy and reading resources are accessible to all Chatham County residents.

Our Little Libraries project is being rolled out throughout Chatham County in the form of eight small structures housing books available for free to members of the community. We have placed these “little libraries” and they are being installed at the following locations:

Northeast District Park

Northwest District Park

Southwest District Park

The Learning Trail

Town Lake Park in Pittsboro

Bennett Elementary School (outside of the school so community members may access at any time)

Sprott Youth Center in Moncure

Chatham Literacy Council’s office in Siler City

All Chatham County residents are encouraged to visit these little libraries where they can take a book, leave a book, or both. The books placed in these libraries represent a variety of reading levels and range from board books to the latest bestsellers. These little libraries, along with 50 book baskets located all over Chatham County in restaurants, doctors offices, and other businesses, are helping us make strides to ensure that all Chatham County residents have access to books.

Stay tuned for additional news as we grow, collaborate and work toward making systems changes that impact literacy proficiency and book access in Chatham County. You can also follow us on twitter, facebook and instagram with the handle @chathamreads