PRH & Little Free Library Celebrate 200,000th Library Milestone at St. Paul Elementary School
On Tuesday, March 11th, Penguin Random House partnered with Little Free Library (LFL) to celebrate a significant milestone: the installation of the 200,000th Little Free Library book-sharing box at Benjamin E. Mays IB World School, an elementary school in St. Paul’s historic Rondo neighborhood. It marks the first of 200 Little Free Libraries being granted to Title I schools across the country stocked with 200 new books each from PRH—a total of more than 40,000 books.
Photo credit: Anna Min.
The 200,000th Little Free Library, located inside the school at 560 Rondo Ave, is exclusively for students. Designed to resemble a red one-room schoolhouse, it pays homage to the original Little Free Library built by LFL founder Todd H. Bol in 2009. This 200k milestone library joins their worldwide network, which spans all 50 states, 128 countries, and all seven continents.
Photo credit: Anna Min.
To celebrate the unveiling of the 200,000th Little Free Library, the school hosted a dedication ceremony featuring remarks from Executive Director of LFL Greig Metzger and Principal Dr. Kenneth O. Turner Jr., a ribbon-cutting, and story time, which featured ALL ARE WELCOME by Alexandra Penfold and Suzanne Kaufman. Roughly 50 students who excelled in a recent school-wide reading challenge attended the event. All 340 students, kindergarten through fifth grade, received PRH books and participated in a dedicated reading session.
St. Paul’s local newspaper, The Pioneer Press, attended and covered the celebration, and Maya Livingstone, Director of Brand Communications & Social Impact at PRH, was able to attend in person.
Photo credit: Anna Min.
As reported by Molley Guthrey, “The students who checked out the most books at this school were invited to select the first books out of the Little Free Library on Tuesday. That group included [Jakaylah] Reed, who individually has checked out the most books from the school library during the 2024-25 academic year (181 so far) and logged 800 reading minutes at home.
While she held onto her new book and drank from a juice box, Reed considered why she likes books so much. ‘The details and the surprises,’ she said.”
Check out the full article here.
Photo credit: Anna Min.
199 additional Little Free Libraries will be installed at Title I elementary schools nationwide. The libraries are sponsored in part by Books Unbanned and three of its consortium members—San José State University iSchool, Brooklyn Public Library, and The Seattle Public Library—and Mortenson.
Schools receiving these libraries and books were selected through an application process, with winners sharing compelling stories of how a Little Free Library will impact their students:
- PS189X – Cornerstone Academy for Social Action, Bronx, NY – “Surrounded by fast-food restaurants and auto repair shops, our 269 Pre-K through 5th grade students have limited access to books. A Little Free Library will empower them to build personal libraries at home, develop positive reading habits, and share their love of books with their families.”
- Iditarod Elementary School, Wasilla, AK – “Our resilient students face significant challenges, with 100% qualifying for free and reduced lunch. A Little Free Library will provide more opportunities to engage with books, fostering a lifelong love of reading and supporting literacy development.”
- Somerset Lakes Academy, West Palm Beach, FL – “Many of our students have little to no books at home, and transportation barriers prevent families from reaching the public library. A Little Free Library will serve as a crucial bridge, providing ongoing access to literature for students, their siblings, parents, and the community.”
Learn more about how you can get involved in the year-long 200k celebration at littlefreelibrary.org/200k.