By Liz Nolan, Contributing Writer
Northborough – Six months of social distancing and quarantining resulted in a family project that will bring smiles and positivity to many for years. Rebecca Foley Mihopoulos and her family decided to build, paint and install the first official Little Free Library in Northborough, at 6 Mohican Ave.
Little Free Library is part of a worldwide nonprofit organization, whose mission is to inspire the love of reading while building community and sparking creativity. The concept is to take a book and leave a book from the neighborhood book-sharing boxes.
Foley Mihopoulos said she has met more neighbors during the last few months because so many more people have been walking through the neighborhood than usual during the pandemic.
The Little Free Library project was inspired by Foley Mihopoulos’s father, Brian Foley, who is a painter and was temporarily out of work and quarantining with them. He purchased a kit online and the family fun began.
“We wanted to build a sense of community in the neighborhood,” Foley Mihopoulos said. “We are all proud of the project. As a family, we have a love of reading and encourage helping others, sharing and being kind.”
Everyone had a part in creating the library including Foley Mihopoulos’s two sons, Nicholas, 4, and Michael, 8, and her sister Bernadette who is an artist and a librarian. In addition, family friends painted kindness rocks to create a rock garden around the base of the library.
The library is officially registered and displays the official logo and assigned charter number 107926, which makes it easier for anyone to find their library from the organization’s website. The family hopes that it is well visited and has a selection of both adult and kids’ books available.
“It’s been a tough time and we hope that this puts a smile on people’s faces and brings them positivity,” Foley Mihopoulos said.
The initial reviews are in.
“Our neighbors love it,” she said. “They think it’s neat to have in our neighborhood.”
You can learn more about Little Free Library concept and search for other officially registered libraries at www.littlefreelibrary.org.
Photos/Laura Foley
