Children’s books are the latest addition to seven laundromats in Eau Claire, Wis., thanks to a collaboration between the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library and the University of Wisconsin-Madison Eau Claire County Extension Office.
The outreach service aims to boost the community’s access to children’s books, while encouraging the development of literacy skills of kids up to the reading age of 8. The laundromat libraries contain dozens of books in English, Spanish and Hmong.
“We wanted to enrich an everyday space with opportunities for families to read together,” explained Jerissa Koenig, early literacy outreach librarian at the L.E. Phillips library.
One of the partnering businesses is Pinehurst Laundromat.
Marie Johnson – who oversees Pinehurst Laundromat, one of the partnering laundry businesses – noted that the time spent waiting for clothes to wash and dry is a great time to read.
“Kids get creative minds when they read or are being read to, and it helps their learning process,” Johnson said. “It’ll impact the rest of their lives if they can read and spell, because this will help them to spell, too.”
Another participating store, Laundry Express Laundromat, has taken the outreach program a step further by having readers hang up the books they’re enjoying the most.
“We thought it would be cool to see how many kids are coming to the laundromat and which books they’re enjoying,” said Amber Burback, store manager of Laundry Express. “For example, if they’re really liking the ‘Gerald the Pig’ books, that makes it easier to bring in more of those books.”
The outreach service also provides a binder full of community resources that support children and families, as well as additional early literacy information.
In addition to Pinehurst Laundromat and Laundry Express, the other partnering Eau Claire stores include London Road Laundromat, Risler’s Laundromat, Vine Street Laundry, and two Super Wash locations.
