FFL Receives $10,000 Grant from John Ben Snow Foundation
The Fayetteville Free Library is excited to announce that it has received a $10,000 grant from the John Ben Snow Foundation to support new face-out picture book shelving in the Library’s new Children’s Room.
The grant will help furnish the newly renovated space, which is part of FFL’s larger Youth Wing renovation. The new Children’s Room will be more than 800 square feet larger than the current Children’s Room, with room for interactive play, comfortable reading areas, a care room, and other features designed to make library visits more welcoming and accessible for children and their caregivers.
Putting Books at Kids’ Eye Level
So, what makes face-out shelving so special?
For young children—especially those who are not yet reading independently—the cover of a book can be much more meaningful than the words on its spine. Face-out shelving puts colorful illustrations and familiar characters right at children’s eye level, making it easier for them to browse, discover, and choose books for themselves.
The shelving funded by the Snow Foundation will display 1,080 additional picture books, giving young patrons even more opportunities to explore the collection.
This kind of browsing encourages children to make their own choices, sparks conversations between children and caregivers, and can help turn a routine library visit into an adventure: Which book looks interesting? What do you think this one is about? Should we take this one home?
Face-out displays can also make it easier for families to discover books they might otherwise overlook and can encourage children to develop confidence and independence as they select their own reading material.
A Difference Families Are Already Seeing
FFL has already heard from families about the impact of face-out shelving, as the library has already added a select number of face-out shelves into its current space.
One Manlius parent and frequent FFL patron shared that, before the new displays, choosing books from rows of spines could be overwhelming for young children. With covers displayed at eye level, her children are naturally drawn to the colorful illustrations and are able to independently select books that spark their curiosity.
“Now, with the new shelves, my kids have also become interested in choosing which books we take home to read,” she wrote.
That is exactly what FFL hopes the new Children’s Room will encourage: children seeing themselves as readers, making their own discoveries, and developing a lifelong love of books.
An Investment That Will Last for Generations
The new shelving is designed to be a long-term investment in the library and the children it serves. The unit is expected to have a lifespan of more than 20 years, just as FFL’s existing picture book shelving, installed in 2003, continues to serve families today.
The new Children’s Room welcomes approximately 66,000 children and their caregivers each year, including families from Fayetteville, Manlius, DeWitt, Cazenovia, and surrounding communities.
We are incredibly grateful to the John Ben Snow Foundation for investing in this important piece of the new Children’s Room. Their support will help put more books where young readers can see them, reach them, choose them—and, most importantly, fall in love with them.
The new Children’s Room, including the face-out shelving funded by the Snow Foundation, is expected to open in early 2027.
This is one more piece of our new Youth Wing coming together—and one more way FFL is creating a space where children and families can read, play, explore, and grow together.