Twin Palms Neighborhood Organization (TPNO) dedicated a new Little Free Library in its neighborhood on Tuesday. The Little Free Library will hold a variety of books on a range of subjects and visitors will be able to drop off a book to share and/or pick up a book to read. At the event, elected officials, representatives from the neighborhood, and other community organizations celebrated the official unveiling of the new structure, located on Navajo Road, between La Jolla and Marion in Palm Springs. Based on the suggestion of current Board chair Carol Munro, and a conceptual design by Board member Larry Johnson, H3K Home+Design created the technical drawings. TPNO worked with the College of the Desert Department of Architecture and Environmental Design students and staff to fabricate and install the structure. The Little Free Library is the first of its kind in the neighborhood and was financed by funds raised by TPNO’s 2024 Modernism Week Home Tour.
“We are thrilled to bring this project to fruition,” said Carol Munro, TPNO advisory board chairperson. “We first conceived this project about four years ago prior to the pandemic and were finally able to bring it to life with the help of the talented students and staff at the College of the Desert. We are pleased to enhance our neighborhood with this great community resource to provide free access to books.”
The Little Free Library will be managed by TPNO resident Laura Miller, who is on the board of the Friends of the Palm Springs Library and will serve as the Librarian for TPNO’s Little Free Library. There will be a few others involved to make sure the library is well maintained and stocked with books and neighbors will be encouraged to donate books.
The structure was incorporated as a credit project for College of the Desert’s Department of Architecture and Environmental Design and Armistead High School in the Desert Sands Unified District students. A total of 12 students, under the supervision of COD’s construction management program, worked on the project in spring of 2024.
“This project was fun and challenging for our students to complete,” said Rusty Harling, a faculty member of the COD Construction Management Program. “We were excited by this project as it provided our students with the opportunity for some hands-on construction experience. We were happy to play a role and be involved in this enjoyable neighborhood project.”
TPNO also announced a scholarship donation in the amount of $2,000 to the College of the Desert Architecture and Environmental Design Department.
