Mini libraries now double as mini food pantries in Mount Prospect

A series of 19 miniature libraries on front lawns throughout Mount Prospect now double as mini food pantries, thanks to the efforts of organizer Joey Carbone and their homeowner caretakers.

Carbone launched the MP Mini Library Mission last June, and the group got certified as a nonprofit in January. The tiny boxes atop wooden posts already serve as community resources to pick up or drop off a new read. To help those in need during the coronavirus outbreak, books now share space with bags of pretzels and other nonperishable items.

"It's the community coming together," said Carbone, who builds, designs and paints the mini libraries in his garage.

He emphasizes to those he calls library "custodians" to keep the libraries and items within them clean. Some boxes have hand sanitizer to use there, too.

"I tell everybody, 'Make sure it's clean, sanitized, and keep it safe,'" Carbone said. "I'm washing my mini library three times a day."

So far, 19 of the 27 mini libraries that dot Mount Prospect have become mini pantries, he said. Carbone collects donations and materials to build the boxes. He has a waiting list of more than 100 residents who want one.