Park Ridge residents looking to share their love of reading with their neighborhood can now host a little piece of the Library in their own yard, thanks to a donation from a local family foundation. Marion’s Mark, established in memory of Marion Sitkiewicz, a long-time supporter of the Park Ridge Library, initially will sponsor 10 Little Free Libraries around the Park Ridge area.

Little Free Library is a popular book exchange program through which members of a community can borrow a book directly from a Little Free Library posted in a neighbor’s front yard. Little Free Library hosts normally pay for, assemble and install their own Little Free Library in their yard and maintain the books and condition of the “library” themselves. As a host of an official Park Ridge Library Little Free Library, the maintenance of the book collection and the little library itself will be handled by Library volunteers. The cost of the library, materials and maintenance will be paid for through the gift from Marion’s Mark.

Patrons are invited to apply to host a Little Free Library in their front yard via a form available at the Library or online at www.parkridgelibrary.org/about/lfl.

“We are so excited to promote reading and the Library in this way,” said Park Ridge Library Director Heidi Smith. “We hope the Little Free Libraries serve as a resource for Park Ridge residents who may not be able to get to the Library during our regular hours, and more importantly that it will foster a connection between neighbors who love to read. Marion’s Mark has been so generous in sponsoring the production of the little libraries, and we’ve had a lot of interest just from having a model of a Little Free Library displayed in our lobby.”

“My mom loved to learn and reading was a big part of her life,” said Donna Sitkiewicz, daughter of Marion Sitkiewicz. “Marion’s Mark is a way for us to honor the incredible impact she had and continues to have on us, and we’re very happy to be able to share her love of reading across our community. We hope these little libraries serve as bright spots of learning and enjoyment throughout Park Ridge.”