Raineyl V. Coiro Memorial Little Free Library

After several months of planning, we officially opened the Raineyl V. Coiro Memorial Little Free Library on Monday, December 5. The Little Free Library is located in the One Stop Cafe, which serves as the cafeteria for Greyhound and Shore Transit passengers, as well as staff and visitors of the One Stop Job Market.

If you're unfamiliar with the concept, a Little Free Library is free book exchange space where anyone can "take a book, return a book." Most little free libraries take the form of a freestanding box of books with two small shelves and a door. Since our Little Free Library is indoors, we were able to increase the size to a four foot bookshelf. ESRL will be partnering with the Friends of the Wicomico Public Library to keep the Little Free Library supplied with fresh books, and the Telemon Corporation is kindly providing the space.

The Little Free Library is dedicated to the memory of our former director, Raineyl Coiro. She worked at ESRL from 1981 until 1996, and returned to serve as director from 1997 until she passed away in 2010. During her time at ESRL, Rai worked tirelessly to advocate for libraries and literacy, and her passing left a lasting void in the Maryland library community.

In his speech to the small crowd at Monday's dedication ceremony, current ESRL director John Venditta said, "Rai had a huge heart, a huge laugh, and a huge passion for reading, but she knew it was the little things that made all the difference. I know Rai would love the idea of the Little Free Library and I can’t think of a better way to honor her memory."

We hope that our Little Free Library will provide an opportunity for learning, leisure, and literary serendipity for visitors to the Tri-County Building.