Youth literacy group installs child-sized Little Free Library on Spanish Moss Trail in Beaufort County

Claire, a representative of the Diversity Awareness Youth Literacy Organization (DALO), said the group installed a small, child-sized Little Free Library on the Spanish Moss Trail to give younger students easier access to books. "So we have a a small little free library down here that was painted by a student with our organization," she said.

DALO, Claire said, began in 2021 at Beaufort High School and has grown to 11 chapters across South Carolina. The group’s stated mission is to "promote community literacy among the younger students of Beaufort County," Claire added, and team members place Little Free Libraries in locations such as trails and laundromats to reach children who "may not encounter books in order to promote literacy and provide books for students who may not have books that come."

The child-sized box was added to complement an existing adult-focused box at the same site. "So we wanted to add one that is lower level for this for younger students," Claire said, describing the lower shelf height and selection aimed at kindergartners and early readers.

Claire said the books in the children’s box were donated by the publisher Baby Lit and include a board-book series about national parks. She connected that stocking to a larger moment for the trail: "we have it stocked with some books about national parks since we're here for the kids in national parks designation that the Spanish Moss Trail is receiving today," she said. The segment did not specify which agency issued the designation.

Claire also described local partnerships that supported the placement. "We already had one little free library here...in combination with the county library and the Story Walk, it just made great sense for this location," she said.

The segment concluded with the interviewer inviting viewers to visit the box and with Claire noting DALO’s ongoing work placing small libraries to reach young readers across Beaufort County.