Olivia Wilkerson of Knoxville is passionate about reading and bolstering literacy in her community. Through discussions with her troop leaders, she was inspired to build a community little library at Copper Ridge Elementary School and was named a 2021 Gold Award Girl Scout from Girl Scouts of Southern Appalachians.

Gold Award Girl Scouts are high schoolers who address issues they’re passionate about by planning and implementing a project that produces lasting change in the community and beyond. It is the Girl Scouts’ highest and most prestigious honor.

A little library is a public place where people can donate new or used books, take books to read, and bring them back for someone else or keep them. Olivia’s little library is called the “Book Barn,” and it is adjacent to a well-used walking path outside the school and across the street from a church.

She shares, “Of the five Girl Scout leadership outcomes, I developed ‘Community Problem Solving’ through my project. I wanted to address an existing problem that aligned with my interests.” Two of her troop leaders work at Copper Ridge and informed her that reading is a school initiative, but some children struggle due to lack of practice. So, Olivia set to work. 

Olivia works on constructing the Little Library. She put a roof guard on it to ensure that water would not get in and ruin the books. 

Through 92 hours of work dedicated to the project, the L&N STEM Academy student planned and orchestrated the design, planning, materials, assistance, construction, and installation of the Book Barn and reached out to her community for book donations.

Olivia secured several large donations for books and also applied for and received funds from the Joyce Maienschein Leadership Grant to help cover the cost of additional materials. After the Book Barn was constructed, she made it more appealing by installing landscaping. 

She encountered a few setbacks, including roadblocks due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which taught her some useful life lessons on flexibility: “I am often particular about my planning, and I hate to change course on things, but I was forced to alter my path. This project allowed me to learn how to deal with changes more fluidly.”

Olivia planned to visit the students’ classrooms to discuss her project, but since school was out due to the pandemic, she pursued a new way to communicate by recording a video for the Copper Ridge Facebook page.

Olivia digs the hole for the Little Library’s support pole. Once the post was installed, she worked on the landscaping around its base. 

“Once the Book Barn was up, it was extremely rewarding to see people respond,” she says. It also inspired another project as the “Copper Ridge Elementary PTO saw the community use of the Book Barn and the organization created a Blessings Box to put nearby with food for families in need. They consulted me about the building of the box, and I was so happy to see my project light a spark for them in a way that will continue to benefit this community.”

Her Gold Award project also sparked direction for her future. “I know now that I have a desire to make the world around me better through issues I care about, sure as reading and knowledge,” she shares.

Olivia is now a freshman at the University of Tennessee, majoring in geology with a minor in environmental science. She works at Tennova Health & Fitness Center in the Elite Kids program, a wellness initiative designed for ages 5-12.

It’s no surprise that her favorite pastime is reading. “I enjoy books of most genres, but my favorites are history books about human medicine, art, poetry and science,” Olivia says.  She also enjoys listening to music, working sudoku puzzles and spending time with her family, especially “my two younger brothers (who) are my favorite people in the world.”

Congratulations, Olivia! Visit girlscoutcsa.org to learn more about the Girl Scouts. 

The finished projects. The plaque on the side denotes the library as an official part of the LittleFreeLibrary.org‘s network.