Exiting the Washington Square Shopping center after a Food Lion run last summer, retired teacher Lorrie Mercer saw a child staring at his phone outside the laundromat. 

She wished it was a book.

But Mercer’s experience teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) at three York County schools made her aware of the obstacles many children in the surrounding neighborhood face when it comes to accessing literacy.

“Transportation is a problem,” she said. She also knows that many of the parents in the ESL community “might be intimidated” to go to a library. And conversations with her former students alerted her to the lack of books in many of their homes. 

With one of her former schools, Dare Elementary, across the road from Washington Square, and the Grafton Station Apartments right behind it, Mercer identified the shopping center as a prime spot to get books circulating.

“Placement is important. Little Free Libraries are often in affluent neighborhoods,” Mercer said, echoing a criticism of the cute, stand-alone book-sharing boxes that have become popular over the past several years. 

Even though York County is a district with above average test scores, Mercer, who retired in 2021, knows the lives of her former students.

According to Mercer, there’s often a “lack of awareness” of people in the community who come from other cultures. 

“There’s distance,” Mercer said. “But … I got to know a lot of people. I knew the books they liked.”

Mercer had already been working with her friend, Stephanie Thompson, on a series of literacy initiatives. Thompson’s daughter, Nina Hermes, was an avid reader who died of cancer in 2007 at age eight. Thompson spearheads a literacy project every May—Nina’s birth month—in her memory.

The pair, along with other volunteers, are involved in a host of literacy projects including a “Books for Breaks” program at apartment complexes where many of Mercer’s former students live. 

During times when school is out of session, Mercer arrives with brand-new books designed to build children’s personal libraries. 

“I want them to feel like they are shopping at a bookstore,” Mercer said.

Around that time Mercer set her sights on Washington Square, Thompson was installing some new Little Free Libraries. Mercer initially approached the laundromat about placing one there, but the space wasn’t conducive and her pitch for a shelf inside the building wasn’t possible.

They settled on a utilitarian, basket-style bin with “Read me! Take me home!” inscribed in neat, kid-friendly handwriting.

Mercer carefully curates the bin and aims for a “good mix” of books.

Classics like “Blueberries for Sal” and “Best Friends for Francis” are nestled among easy readers based on graphic novels and even a couple board books.

Mercer insists on quality—no torn covers or marked-up pages. Many books are purchased with funds Mercer receives from friends, family, retired teachers and even strangers on the internet, she said.

Just like any library, the little green bins nestled between plastic chairs were built to serve a community and support its dreams. 

“It’s really easy to connect over books,” Mercer said.

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