Homer council to weigh accepting funds for little libraries

HOMER, Alaska (AP) — City officials in Homer are considering accepting funds for additional little libraries around the community.

The Homer City Council plans a hearing next month on a proposed ordinance to accept $25,000 in federal grant funds for the public library. The money would come through the Institute of Museum and Library Services and be divided between buying and installing five little libraries and upgrading the library’s Wi-Fi equipment, the Homer News reported.

Little libraries are weather-proof stands with shelves of free books available for anyone to pick up or drop off for others to choose from, said David Berry, the library’s director.

“We don’t expect to ever get them back; they are just books that have been donated for spreading the joy of reading to the community,” Berry said.

Berry said one lesson learned during that pandemic was that some people “depend on physical access to the building to be able to come in and read, and if they can’t have that, like when we had to close our doors, then we need another way to get materials into their hands.”

If the money is accepted, Berry said he hopes the libraries can be ordered in December and installed in the spring.