While at home during the COVID-19 pandemic earlier this year, Tom Shoup, a PA with Affinity Hospital Medicine, started working on a joint project between the Kiwanis Club of Tifton and Southwell. 

He had seen Little Free Libraries before, which include some sort of weatherproof container for anyone to access within the community with books that are free to take, read, return, or share, and he thought that would be a great project. 

“As a member of the Kiwanis Club, I wanted to place the library outside Tift Regional Medical Center in the name of the Kiwanis Club of Tifton,” Shoup said. “Our purpose is to inspire a love of reading, provide free literature, to build community and spark creativity. Two out of three children living in poverty have no books to call their own. Academically, children growing up in homes without books are on average three years behind children in homes with books, even when controlled for other factors like their parents’ education, occupation and class. More than 36 million adults in the U.S. cannot read, write, or do basic math above the third-grade level. More than half the children in the U.S. (13 million) will not hear a bedtime story tonight, and I think that really demonstrates the importance of both children and adults having free access to books.” 

Shoup reached out to Chris Dorman, President & CEO of Southwell, to explain his idea for the Little Free Library and why he felt it was so important.  

“When Tom reached out to me about having a Little Free Library on the grounds near the hospital, and I thought it was a great idea,” said Dorman. “We are always looking for ways we can partner with our civic organizations and better our community, and this felt like a great way to do both of these things.”  

The library is located on the corner of 18^th Street and Lee Avenue at the edge of one of the employee parking lots for Tift Regional Medical Center, and the Kiwanis Club maintains the library with various genres. It is even equipped with a hook on the front pedestal post for people to attach their dog leash if needed while they browse the book selections.

“We have partnered with the Little Free Library organization, and our library has a charter number to register the location,” said Shoup. “They will soon have a cell phone app to help people locate their libraries, including ours.”