DOWAGIAC — Anyone walking around Dowagiac in the last few months may have noticed small boxes, may they look like newspaper boxes or enlarged birdhouses, that are filled to the brim with books of all colors and subjects.

There are currently five of these boxes set up around town at city entities as part of the Little Free Library project, which allows residents to, at any time, retrieve a book from the box or return one. Now, organizers of the project have a vision to have little libraries in every neighborhood, all sponsored and controlled by community members.

Dowagiac’s Little Free Library program is looking to kick off a community involvement initiative with the goal of having community members create, maintain and sponsor its own Little Free Libraries for the community to enjoy. To get the project started, the Dowagiac Little Free Library Program will host a booth Saturday during Dowagiac’s Summer in the City Festival. Opening at 10 a.m., the booth will offer information and advice about how community groups can start their own libraries, and will allow people to donate and pick up books and will host a raffle for an old newspaper box people can use to start their own little libraries.

One of the organizers of the project, Bobbie Jo Hartline, said that the libraries already in place — located at city hall, the police department, Russom Park, Front Street Crossing and Patrick Hamilton Elementary School — have been big hits that are frequently used. The success of the program is what spurred organizers into promoting community involvement.

“When we started, we wanted to get this started and say to the community, ‘here are five places you can go right now to get books,’” Hartline said. “People have been really interested, and we have had a lot of questions about how people can participate, so that’s where this new part starts.”

Hartline said the booth during Summer in the City will be the best way to start the community involvement initiative. 

“We want to give people information about how they can band together as a neighborhood to put in a little free library,” she said. “We also want people to know that we will be there to offer assistance if they get stuck on anything on their journey to starting [a little free library].”

Opening the Dowagiac Little Free Library program up to the community will allow for more libraries to be run, promote literacy in the city and bring the community together, Hartline said.

“I think this will bring people together, and I can’t wait to see that,” she said. “There is something special in that people who want to do this aren’t doing this for any benefit to themselves, but they are doing it for the kids. This is a seed that they are planting. … This will give an opportunity for neighbors to talk and for children to engage.”

Going into the future, Hartline said she would like to see a high level of community engagement in the Little Free Library program, as she believes it is important to Dowagiac’s future.

“Literacy builds a stronger person, and stronger people build a stronger community,” Hartline said. “This is just a way to help encourage that.”