On-the-go bookshelf
Published 10:00 am Thursday, October 13, 2016
- Juanita Giles, left, and Mary Jo Stockton stand with the Virginia Children’s Book Festival mobile book cart.
A mobile book shelf is on the move in Downtown Farmville.
The READ Farmville Book Cart — maintained by Virginia Children’s Book Festival (VCBF) staff and volunteers — features different collections of books, depending on its location.
The movable book shelf came about as a result of Farmville Downtown Partnership’s (FDP) SOUP event last spring.
Children read politically-themed books from the mobile book cart.
Juanita Giles, executive director of VCBF, submitted the idea to improve downtown.
It was chosen, along with two other projects, from more than 20 submissions. As the third-place winner, Giles received a $1,000 grant to create and stock the cart.
The first- and second-place projects were parking-meter bicycle racks and bistro seating, respectively. Both projects can be seen downtown.
Giles said her project is important because it encourages people to read in public, which can take away the stigma of reading.
She said VCBF will use the cart in a variety of places — from hospitals, museums and schools to to inner-city neighborhoods in Richmond.
“We can take it anywhere,” Giles said.
Three book-cart guests read “Lillian’s Right to Vote.”
The cart is on wheels, so it’s easy to transport, and it can be locked with the books inside. Thus far, the cart has been sighted twice on Main Street.
VCBF debuted the moving book shelf at the All-American Downtown Celebration on Saturday, Oct. 1. Adults and children alike wandered by and stopped to read political-themed literature in advance of the Vice Presidential Debate at Longwood University.
The cart featured books such as “George Washington’s Breakfast” and Dr. Seuss’s “One Vote, Two Vote, I Vote, You Vote.” There were stories about civil rights, about women voting and about political involvement.
The mobile book cart, funded by Farmville Downtown Partnership’s new SOUP grant, features the VCBF logo.
If people want to keep a book, they can give back two books or donate money to VCBF, Giles said.
Most recently the cart was spotted at the Outdoor Adventure Store on Main Street with its shelves full of adventure-themed stories.
Guests of all ages enjoy the Virginia Children’s Book Festival’s Read Farmville Mobile Book Cart, looking at the books on display at the during the All American Downtown Celebration.
Giles said she is already dreaming of future collections for the cart, from comic books and books about home to a collection of pop-up books.
