A Little Free Library Box for swapping books as part of the international Little Free Libraries neighborhood book exchange program will complement the Union Chapel history museum. It was created by local wood-working hobbyist Dave Mead, left, and David Wonnell helped to install it.

CATAWBA ISLAND – A Little Free Library Box promoting literacy has been installed in front of the Catawba Island Historical Society’s Union Chapel history museum on Catawba Island.

It may look familiar to residents, with the special little library designed as a miniature version of Don and JoAnn Rhodes’ unique log home on NW Catawba Road.

The model is a receptacle for swapping books as part of the international Little Free Libraries neighborhood book exchange program. It was built and donated to Catawba Island Historical Society for use at the Museum by local wood-working hobbyist Dave Mead.

Similar exchange points have been established all over the world to advance literacy by increasing access to books. More than 90,000 Little Free Library exchange boxes currently exist in 91 countries. Other Catawba Island locations include Gem Beach, West Harbor Landing, and the Nehls Memorial Nature Preserve.

In addition to serving as a book exchange point, Catawba Museum at Union Chapel will offer a quiet atmosphere for users to linger and read. Two beautiful iron and wood benches donated by the Catawba Island Garden Club are available for use near or in the facility’s serenely landscaped courtyard.

“Not all participants in the Little Free Libraries program design their own exchange box,” said David Wonnell, Vice President of the Catawba Island Historical Society which operates Union Chapel Museum. “We did,” he continued, “because the log home is closely associated with Don and JoAnne Rhodes, and we wanted to again recognize their contributions to preserving the Island’s heritage.”

The book exchange box is positioned in a landscaping bed adjacent to the Museum’s front parking area. Reading material can be exchanged 24 hours a day, 365 days a year beginning this month. If you have extra free books you would like to donate, please call 419-967-5363. The general protocol is simply “Take a Book/Share a Book.”

Further information is available about the Museum on the Historical Society’s web page which is www.catawbaislandhistoricalsociety.com.