By Kali Nelson | FāVS News Reporter
At the end of the 2023-2024 school year John Russell Elementary in Moscow closed but now it has a new purpose.
Over the summer, members of the Palouse River Ward of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Unitarian Universalist Church of the Palouse have been working together to turn one room of John Russell Elementary into a Book Nook.
Book Nook opens to give children free books
The nook, which opened Aug. 15, is open to any child who comes to The Family Resource Hub and houses a variety of books for them to take home. Ricki Martin, a literacy aid at McDonald Elementary in Moscow said they wanted to make a room that could get books into the hands of kids.
Martin, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said her ward had worked with the Unitarian Church before for programs like Family Promise or the Food Bank.
“We really wanted members of both congregations to work together,” Martin said.
Volunteers transform a classroom into a reading haven
Nancy Nelson, a member of the Unitarian Universalist church, was in charge of setting up the SignUpGenius for the volunteers. She said both congregations were encouraged to work together to turn a small room into a library for children of all ages to use. The months of planning meant they spent a few weeks in the room to transform it.
Volunteers worked together to tape off certain areas and then to paint the walls a light blue and green. They would also build floating shelves and hang them. They discussed having a chalkboard but decided on a white board for children to draw on or leave notes.
“A lot of times — families, when they can’t get basic needs, it can be hard to get books into the house,” Martin said. “This is getting books into a kid’s hands.”
There are board books and picture books as well as chapter books for older children. Books line the walls and are organized by reading level. Martin said all this could change as the space evolves.
Martin also said she had already seen some use since she set it up Aug. 15. She received some books as donations and others from her fellow teachers at McDonald who were taking them out of their classrooms.
Supporting families beyond books
The Book Nook joins another room in the former elementary school: The Hub. The Hub is a space for families in need to come and find seasonally appropriate clothing, school supplies, sports gear and now books.
“It’s been great to see the small regrowth of Russell after we closed it,” Shawn Teigs, the superintendent of the Moscow School District said. “The vibrancy, the life is coming back into it.”
Tiegs said The Hub started last year and the goal was to be able to support families in the school district. He said it had moved into the school about a year ago and he hopes to see the building continue to help the community.
“The idea is that this is not a dead or dormant building but that it is helping our community,” Tiegs said.
Brian Smith, principal at Paradise Creek Regional High School oversees The Hub and said it served close to 180 families in the 2024-2025 school year. Smith said in the few days it had been open 40 students have visited the Book Nook and been able to take home books.
“The idea for a ‘Book Nook’ came from Ricki, whose daily work with students developing their reading skills highlighted the need for such a space. I also wanted a welcoming area where students could wait comfortably while parents shopped for clothing, supplies or other essentials,” Smith said.
The Book Nook Tiegs said is also an example of the community coming together to help a need they found. The new room also gives children a place to go while parents may be helping another child as well as expanding the books in their home libraries.
“We’ve found in Moscow that there’s a lot of organizations that want to help,” Tiegs said. “The project is a great example of connecting groups.”
Smith said families in need of assistance with clothing, school supplies or other items can reach out to their school counselors or to him at bsmith@msd281.org to schedule a time to shop at The Hub.
