May is ‘Get Caught Reading’ month, and local law enforcement has partnered together with the Rapid City Public Library in order to offer the community a free resource to enhance access to books. The Rapid City Police Department and Pennington County Sheriff’s Office have installed a community library on the Pennington County Courthouse campus.
Located in the Pennington County Courthouse’s western greenspace, this Little Free Library will contain a variety of books for all ages to enjoy. The initial selection of books was graciously donated by the Rapid City Public Library. The public is encouraged to borrow a book from this Little Free Library, or leave a book for someone else to enjoy.
A kickoff event for the library has been scheduled for Friday, May 11th at 1:00 p.m. on the western side of the Pennington County Courthouse. Representatives from the RCPD, PCSO, Rapid City Area Schools, and the Rapid City Public Library will be on hand to speak about the importance of reading.
“There exists a correlation between literacy and quality of life in our society,” says Rapid City Chief of Police Karl Jegeris. “We hope that, in some small way, this Little Free Library can make a positive impact in our community.”
“This is a concrete step we are taking to help those in our community find the joy in reading,” says Pennington County Sheriff Kevin Thom. “We encourage community members to help provide a healthy variety of reading material for this library.”