chelsea-books
A local Girl Scout's project becomes a small part of a much bigger trend that seems to be sweeping the globe.
Chelsea Been of Girl Scout Troop 1160 and a 2014 HHS graduate, recently received Girl Scout's highest award, the Gold Award, for developing a Little Free Library in Henryetta to address literacy in school-aged children.  
Been said some of the reasons she chose this project were because parents of school-aged children are busy and because books are expensive.
“Parents can't always take their child to the library during its hours of operation," Been said. “Nor do they want to invest a ton of money of an item the child may only read one time."
“Take a book. Return a book." was a perfect fit for the children of the Henryetta area.
The first Little Free Library was built in 2009 by Todd H. Bol as a memorial to his mom.  Six years later, this simple idea to promote literacy and encourage community has become a movement. Little Free Libraries‚Äîfreestanding front-yard book exchanges‚Äînow there are 25,000 little libraries in 80 countries.
“I have found that the people of Henryetta and surrounding communities needed a place to bring books their child had outgrown," Been said. “This Little Library helps with that issue too. In fact, Been had gathered hundreds of books prior to the Little Library's installation but before she could put them in there, the neighborhood filled it up.
“It's a good problem to have," Been said. “At least I know they are excited about the project. Plus I'll check on the library from time to time and switch out books to give users more of a selection."
Located in front of the Little House at 412 S. 5th Street in Henryetta, children and their parents can donate books or pick up a book to read.
Little Free Libraries now stand in front yards all across the globe ‚Äì from Iceland to Pakistan to Tasmania to Henryetta, Oklahoma  ‚Äì strengthening neighborhoods, spreading literacy and the love of reading, and bringing people together.