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Giving away starter libraries

By Kate Miller, Record Managing Editor
Posted 11/7/19

Warren County Literacy is getting ready to hold its biggest annual event, the Warren County Bookcase Project.  For this event, the group collects donated books and loads them into bookcases that …

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Giving away starter libraries

Posted
By Kate Miller, Record Managing Editor
Warren County Literacy is getting ready to hold its biggest annual event, the Warren County Bookcase Project. For this event, the group collects donated books and loads them into bookcases that community members sponsor and volunteers build.The finished bookcases are filled with 25 books, give or take, and are presented to kids who will be starting kindergarten the following year. “We call it a starter library,” said Rich Lagemann, president of Warren County Literacy, a nonprofit whose mission is to improve early literary in Warren County.The next bookcase presentation will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 26, at Warrior Ridge Elementary. Sponsors are still needed. The cost to sponsor a bookcase is $50 which has the potential to leave a big impression.Lagemann said when the program started, the child’s name was placed on a plaque on the front of the bookcase. The sponsor could have a name written on the back. Now they write warm messages.“It has evolved into a special and meaningful thing,” he said. Lagemann said for this project, the organization works with Parents as Teachers and Youth in Need, which is part of Head Start.At the presentation, kids pledge to take care of their new books and read each day. Parents pledge to help them.Lagemann founded the organization in 2011. He is a retired school administrator from Wright City. After taking some time off, “I just wanted to do something else,” he said.He read about a literacy program in Arkansas and researched how it was done. He went as far as to call that program’s creator. From there, he designed a similar program for Warren County and contacted a few acquaintances.“I asked 11 people if they were interested in doing this and all 11 came and all 11 became part of the committee,” he said.Most of the members of Warren County Literacy are retired teachers, although it is not a requirement.While the Warren County Bookcase Project is the group’s biggest event, it is not the only one. They give out books at Halloween celebrations and other occasions and fill shelves at “little free libraries” at various locations throughout Warren County.Its next big project, though, will be finding a new home to receive, sort and store donated books, Lagemann said. As of now, they are being warehoused at Wright City Middle School and the district needs the space back.Lagemann said it’s too big of an operation for someone’s home. What they need is about 300 to 400 square feet.For more information visit www.warrencountybookcaseproject.org or email richlagemann@hotmail.com.

File photo.

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