Library Builds

The Vision

*Founder, Lyndsay Archer, presenting Grateful Hill Primary School with a Little Free Library at the school’s 6th grade graduation in 2018.*

Our work began in the spring/summer of 2018 with an initiative to establish a Little Free Library in the community of Glengoffe, Jamaica to serve the youth of the community. After gracious donations of books from our Detroit community, we were able to stock the Little Free Library with a collection of books. After formally introducing the Little Free Library to the school in July of 2018 and assessing the immediate need of more accessible books for the community of Glengoffe, we planned and worked to build more sustainable literary spaces for the students and the community at large.

Our initial mission was to build a library and computer lab for the students at Grateful Hill Primary School. We ultimately built two libraries and a computer lab for students, stocking the libraries with thousands of books.

The Need

Glengoffe, Jamaica is a rural hill-side community that is nestled in the northeast region of St. Catherine, Jamaica. Prior to the construction of the two libraries and computer lab, youth in Glengoffe did not have any immediate access to libraries or books. The nearest libraries to the community were each an hour away by vehicle, making it difficult for youth to have immediate access to books to improve their literacy skills. Jamaica's literacy rate is currently measured at 88.1%. While this literacy rate is high among Jamaican adults, functional literacy is greatly stifled in rural communities, like Glengoffe, that do not have immediate access to literary tools.