Lei Withers
Bibliophile
Lover of Libraries
Little Free Library Steward
Creative Mind
Ambassador Girl Scout
Gold Award Candidate

Library Solution (Short-term Goal):

Library Solution (Mid-term Goal):

When I started this project, I had no way of knowing if children in my neighborhood would appreciate the Little Free Libraries (LFLs).  I am so happy to report that both parents and kids have expressed their love for the LFLs of Maple Lawn.

As of August 2020, I have accomplished my short-term goal. Elementary school-age children (Ages 4-10) in my community now have 24/7 access to free books. They can walk or bike to all three of these libraries. 

This community service has become particularly important now that Fulton Elementary School (and its library) is closed due to COVID-19.

Over the next one to two years I hope to support other local Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts in expanding the Little Free Library network throughout Maple Lawn and other neighborhoods in Howard County, MD.

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​Library Solution (Long-term Goal):

Over the next five years, I will continue to attend Howard County Council meetings in support of a new HCLS public library in Fulton, MD.

My Story

   
​     Since I was a small child, I’ve always loved books, I would read in the dark until 10pm on some nights. Growing up in Washington, D.C, I could walk down the street, take the bus or Metro to a public library. My family would visit the Library of Congress several times a year. No matter where I was, I always had access to books. When I moved to Howard County, Maryland in 6th grade, there were neither buses nor subway trains and no ability to walk down the road to a library. In middle school, I observed that new construction was beginning in my neighborhood and there were rumors that a library was going to be built. My friends and I were ecstatic for a few months, until we realized it was just another office building. So here I am, in my Senior year, and the nearest library is thirty minutes away by car.

     Last year, I started to think about what I wanted to do for my Girl Scout Gold Award project. Around this same time, the County was making plans for a new library to be built within the next five years. This library would be located in either Fulton (where I live, and where new development is still occurring) or in the more established neighborhoods of Highland or Clarksville. Et voila, my Library Solutions Project was born: serving as an advocate for a public library to be built in Fulton, Maryland within the next five years. As a way to demonstrate interest in the new library, I built three Little Free Libraries as placeholders in my neighborhood of Maple Lawn, until a real library can be built. I spent over eighty hours building three Little Free Libraries (LFLs), installing them, attending County Council meetings, setting up a Facebook page, and creating a petition supporting a new public library in Fulton, MD. I just completed a PSA video and website about my project. My Gold Award Final Report will be submitted to my Girl Scout Council and I hope to receive my Gold Award by the end of 2020. It was, indeed, challenging. I had to deal with vandalism and deciding how to keep the libraries continuously stocked. I had to learn how to communicate with people I have never met before and convince them to support my cause. I learned open-mindedness, supportiveness and team leadership. It has been a lot of work, and it took a significant amount of time, but I have enjoyed the experience immensely. Hopefully, in five years, my community will be enjoying a new library, in part, thanks to me. ​

Above are photos of me, in 2020, presenting my project to the Maple Lawn Home Owners Association (HOA) Board of Directors, for approval.