Widefield School District 3 is excited to announce the opening of two unique libraries at two of our elementary schools.

The Kingdom of Reading room opened at Talbott Elementary on January 22. This new reading room is a place where students can go to enjoy a good book, participate in book clubs, and eventually will be open as an exchange library (donate a book, take a book). The purpose of a reading room is to create a welcoming and magical environment where kids can enjoy and read books when they and the teachers have time available.
Several local businesses and organizations donated materials to make the Kingdom of Reading room come to life including the 4th Judicial District Attorney’s Office, Lowes, Walmart, Talbott PTO, Muralist Kelly Champlin, District 3 Facilities Department, Terri and Randy Brungardt, the district’s Teaching Learning Resources Services (TLRS), Jerre Fussell, Danny Lovato, and Fernando Bonilla.

French Elementary is now the recipient of a Free Little Library donated by Colorado Springs author Donna Guthrie. She and her husband select two schools each year to donate a Free Little Library.

The Free Little Library movement began in 2009 when a man named Todd Bol of Hudson, Wisconsin built a model of a one-room schoolhouse as a tribute to his mother, a former teacher who loved reading. He filled it with books and put it on a post in his front yard. He invited all of his neighbors to take a book and put a book in. Bol found it to be a great way for neighbors to meet each other and to share their love of reading.

With the help of volunteers from Twocor and the use of recycled materials, French’s Free Little Library was built and delivered during Christmas break. It is located on the outside of the building near the front doors. All children and adults are invited to take a book or leave a book 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

**If anyone is interested in donating books to the reading room at Talbott or to the Free Little Library at French, please feel free to send the books to either school or the TLRS located at 930 Leta Drive, Colorado Springs CO 80911.