The YMCA's new Red Bookshelf. The shelf is located underneath the community bulletin board in the Norwich Family YMCA lobby. Local children are encouraged to take a book, or leave a book, with the goal of promoting reading and literacy in the area. (Photo from the Norwich Family YMCA Youth Facebook page)

NORWICH — The Youth Development program at the Norwich Family YMCA recently implemented another resource to help promote reading and literacy in children: the Red Bookshelf.

Red bookshelves, which operate similarly to Little Free Libraries, are a far-reaching initiative. Norwich Family YMCA Youth Development Director Kelly Reppert said the bookshelves can be found in several communities throughout the state.

"In different public areas you’ll find these red bookshelves, and different communities have different names for their programs. I know one is like the Big Red Bookshelf, some are Little Red Bookshelves, some are just Red Bookshelves," Reppert explained. "So different communities choose a little bit of a different spin for how they want to run their programs."

"So I just called ours the Red Bookshelf, and I don’t know if there are others in Norwich or not, but we have one here at the Y now," she continued. "So the community can come to see children’s books, and they can take a book, leave a book, or they can swap books."

Reppert said she got the idea to implement the bookshelf because the Youth Development program had such an abundance of books, which she felt could be shared with other children.

"We had quite a book collection in our Youth Department that had just accumulated over the years. Books that were donated to us, or that we got through a fundraiser or different things. So I thought with some of our books that our children had already read and looked at, we could put out for other children to see who aren’t in the program," said Reppert.

She added that, growing up in Corning, she saw Red Bookshelves stationed throughout the community. From there, it was a no-brainer to utilize the program to get more books into the hands of children.

"In Corning, which is where I grew up, we had some Red Bookshelves around in doctor’s offices and different places," she explained. "So I kind of knew how it worked, so I did a little more research and implemented one here at the Y."

The bookshelf didn't need any funding to complete, as the YMCA already had all the books they needed. Reppert said the shelf was put in place on Monday, January 24, nestled under the community bulletin board in the Norwich Family YMCA lobby. Now, children in the community can enjoy an array of books suited for several reading levels.

"I have picture books through chapter books, and some leveled readers," Reppert said. "You could find something for beginning readers, or some of your upper elementary grades."

"[This] is to get books into the hands of children and promote childhood literacy. Research has shown the early literacy enriches children's vocabularies, enhances reading comprehension, and improves self-expression," said the Norwich Family YMCA in a Facebook post about the program. "Our hope is to spread the love of reading one book at a time."

The Red Bookshelf isn't the only literacy initiative at the Y either; through a partnership with Improve Norwich Now (INN), the YMCA also revamped their "book nook" under the staircase.

"We took that space and, with the support of the YMCA and some other local businesses, we were able to come alongside the Y and have a local girl scout troop paint a mural that is sea themed," said INN co-founder Jen Westervelt. "That has magnetic sea creatures that can be moved on the mural. We also have new books, and some games that are thematically connected, as well as some that are just really good reads. We have bean bag chairs, and a nice carpet in that space under the stairs."

The book nook is already gaining the attention of local youth, and Reppert said she often sees children huddled under the staircase reading the books.

"I do know that it has been utilized by the children and the families, and the children that come through, you know, come in and out of the Y," she said. "I do always see kids under there in the little cozy areas, looking at the books or even reading to siblings. So it’s awesome."

The Red Bookshelf has also been gaining popularity in just the one week since it was established. Reppert said her hope is to see children continuing to use the bookshelf, and that through the take a book, leave a book format it will continue to sustain itself.

"It’s gotten some attention. I noticed a couple of the books have been taken, and a couple new books have been put on the shelf," she said. "I think it’ll just keep itself going with people swapping books, and I have a reserve set aside that I can replace books with, and as we get in more donations it’ll just keep going and be an evolving thing. That’s my hope anyway."