Little Free Library is work of South Elgin 10-year-old

A new Little Free Library - a wooden, birdhouse-like home for books that people can take and restock for free - in South Elgin is the work of an enterprising 10-year-old.

Logan Iott, soon to be a fifth-grader at Fox Meadow Elementary School, said he got the idea after stumbling upon a Little Free Library while walking the dog with his grandma during spring break in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

"I loved it because I got to take some books and give some back, and I thought it was a great idea," he said.

So he started doing research at littlefreelibrary.org to find out how to install one and asked his parents for birthday money to buy one for Blackhawk Park, a few blocks from his house. He also contacted the village's parks and recreation department to get permission.

"I wanted to start one in my neighborhood because they are not very close to me," he said.

Logan picked a Prairie two-story model library that, along with a post, cost about $400. His mother, Tobi Iott, said she and her husband, Scott, gave Logan more birthday money than usual because they knew what he wanted to do with it.

"We realized this was also a gift for the community," she said.

Logan's grandma, an artist, helped decorate his Little Free Library, which Logan and his family will stock with books and officially open at 2 p.m. Sunday when Logan will have a small birthday party at the park.

There are Little Free Libraries in South Elgin, including one at Willard Elementary School. Logan was asked to write a proposal that was promptly approved, Parks and Recreation Director Kim Wascher said. Village staff members helped install it, and the Iotts are tasked with keeping an eye on it, Tobi Iott said.

"I think it's very cool," she said. "It's very sweet."

The Iotts are a family of readers. Tobi Iott is a preschool teacher and Scott Iott teaches at a junior high school; younger brother Kyle, 8, also loves books.

Logan said all the work he's put into his new Little Free Library hasn't been sitting too well with Kyle, because of all the attention and time it's required. "The only time he helped was when we painted it, because he wanted to get it over with," he said.