The Greater Prin
ce William (GPW) Little Free Libraries project has continued to spread in the community, and is gaining momentum.
Former Occoquan mayor Earnie Porta finished his own little free library, the “Porta Pagoda” in time for last weekend’s Occoquan Arts and Crafts show.
Porta created and named his little library using the Asian-inspired theme of his front yard rock garden.
“It has survived some heavy rain since then without the books getting wet, so I think it’s going to work out pretty well. I suspect that over time I will probably need to replace and/or reinforce the bamboo ‘shingles’ that I put on it. I tried to use scrap materials as much as possible, and as a result some of the bamboo pieces have seen better days. It turned out to be much heavier than I anticipated,” said Porta.
Residents have already started using and enjoying it.
“So far it appears to have been well received. People have been using it, both taking and donating books. I don’t have any signage on it right now, so I think some passersby are unsure what it is, but I have registered it with Little Free Library.org so I’ll be receiving a charter plaque that identifies what it is and how it works,” said Porta.
In addition to Porta’s new little library, Manassas City Councilman Ian Lovejoy has publicly expressed his support for the GPW Little Free Libraries initiative.
I’m extremely excited to be partnering with Write by the Rails to bring the youth literacy initiative Little Free Library to the City of Manassas. It is my hope that by working with local businesses, local authors and anyone who shares the love of reading that we can, in our own small way, bring literacy to the forefront in a simple, economical and purely fun way,” said Lovejoy.
Lovejoy will be working with one of our project partners – Write by the Rails – to establish several little library locations in the Manassas area.
Take a look at our interactive map to find a little free library near you!
