Girl Scouts put up Little Free Library at Belvedere Elementary School

There’s a new Little Free Library in front of Belvedere Elementary School, thanks to the efforts of Girl Scout Cadette Troop 5308.

The Scouts will be dedicating the tiny library to the Belvedere community on Tuesday, Nov. 15, 4 p.m., at the school, at 6540 Columbia Pike. The public is invited.

Little Free Libraries have been popping up all over the world since 2009, when a grassroots effort was launched to encourage literacy, a love of reading, and neighborliness through cute boxes full of books. The concept calls for people to take a book and leave another one.

There are now 50,000 Little Free Libraries in every state and 70 countries. There are several in the Annandale/Mason District area, including Mason Crest Elementary School. Search the map for a Little Free Library in your neighborhood.

The girls in Cadette Troop 5308 has been together since they were in kindergarden in the Daisy level. They have worked on many community projects to earn both their Bronze and Silver Awards, including volunteering with Annandale Christian Community for Action, raising money for local food banks, and cleaning up the pond at Mason District Park, as well as donating the Little Free Library. They added personal touches to Belvedere’s library by adding bulldog mascot medallions and helping to get an official U.S. registration for it.