HISTORY
Turning the page into our future. The next chapter is sure to be an exciting one!
Since 1986,the Literacy Network has championed the development of literacy in our community by connecting children and adults to the programs and resources they need to become strong readers. Throughout our rich and storied history, we take pride in being open and willing to adjust to the needs of the families we have the privilege to serve. Two themes woven throughout our history continue to be at the forefront of our work are: listening and people power.
ListeningAs programs evolved, we learned the strongest voices for true change are: the students, teachers, and parents who are working toward thriving educational futures. By listening and working in tandem, together, we can create lasting change.
People PowerOur programs are rooted in the most valuable resource of all: people power. We believe in creating impact through collaboration and the army of volunteers, supporters, and friends loyal to our mission.
As we looked toward our next chapter, we knew that we wanted to capitalize on those two
core strengths. In 2017, after a fortuitous meeting with Todd Bol, founder of Little Free
Libraries (LFL), we were inspired to begin our own LFL program that would directly serve
those in our community who lacked book access. One statistic that inspired us to implement
this program was learning that, “In most economically-disadvantaged neighborhoods, only
1 in 300 students have an age-appropriate book in the home.” We listened and utilized our
people power to change this reality in our Greater Cincinnati region.
In 2018, armed with statistics, we excitedly moved forward with our first order of 50 LFLs
and began targeting neighborhoods with “book deserts”. Today there are over 200 QCBB Little Free Libraries placed in our community and we have distributed over 210,000
books since that momentous day.
After seeing the impact of Little Free Libraries, we learned more about the importance of curated book access and the intense need for more diverse and bilingual books. We worked with many community partners to determine the most effective way to fulfill this need.
Upon researching many successful regional book banks throughout the country, we made the decision to move forward, opening the Queen City Book Bank in the Fall of 2021! The Queen City Book Bank is now the forward-facing entity and this new location serves as a literacy hub for our city providing: programming, volunteer opportunities, outreach, and information.
In early 2022, we kicked off the Pilot Phase of our new curated book distribution program and we will work diligently to scale this program to serve the resourcing needs for K-3rd grade students who lack reliable, targeted book access in the Greater Cincinnati MSA. This program will help to empower children, teachers and families by providing new books self-selected through an online portal based on reading level and interests.
With the legacy programs of the Literacy Network, the innovative new approach to the Queen City Book Bank program and our passion for change, we are energized to serve schools and families better than ever before. Ultimately, we will continue to listen, empower our community to take an active role, and together we will create a stronger next chapter for Greater Cincinnati!