Books in Thomaston have a new home to call their own.
On Sunday, the Village of Thomaston opened a little library where residents can circulate books among themselves, village officials said. It is located on a traffic island on Avalon Road.
The suggestion to create a small book exchange came from Erica Grosen, a Thomaston resident who pitched the idea to the mayor. She thought it would be a good idea not only because she often had books to give away, she said, but because such a small library could have a big impact.
“There’s a recycling aspect to it, a redistribution aspect to it, promoting book readership and building a feeling of community,” Grosen said. “It just pushes all sorts of nice buttons.”
Grosen said the idea could be traced back to a chat she had with a friend living in Madison, Wisconsin. Both of them are book lovers, she said, but only one of them had one of these little libraries for the exchange of books.
Thomaston’s new little library is shaped like a small, wooden house, features “VT” for Village of Thomaston on its roof, and fits 10 to 15 books. It was designed and built by William Mazurkiewicz, the superintendent of public works for the village.
“He was instrumental in the whole project,” village Administrator Denise Knowland said.
While there is a book exchange at the gazebo near Great Neck Plaza’s train station, Leila Mattson, the village historian, said this would be the first such free library she knows of in Thomaston.
“We were certainly fully supportive of it,” Thomaston Mayor Steven Weinberg said.
There was a ribbon cutting ceremony on Sunday morning, and there are some books available, a village official said.
“It accomplishes so much so simply that it’s really a nice thing,” Grosen said. “And I’m really glad Steve and the town took the ball and ran with it.”
