A library for Tampa

? Tampa residents dedicate their new Little Free Library Saturday.

Darla Hall, daughter of Dee and the late Thomas Duggan, contributes a couple of books to the new Little Free Library developed in honor of her father. Patty Decker / Free Press

Little Free Libraries are popping up all over the country. Tampa, with a population of about 115 people, unveiled the first one in Marion County Satur?day.

The concept of Little Free Libraries started six years ago in Wisconsin.

?The idea was to bring a book, take a book or leave a book,? Pastor Clark Davis said. ?Our national registered number is 24,853.

Deb Hall of Herington said the LFL will evolve organically.

?As people take books, they will put one in and (the library) will be ever-changing, which I think is wonderful,? she said. ?Our community is a little further away from libraries (in Hillsboro or Marion), and so this can be a resource for people here in the community.?

Celebrating a citizen

In addition to celebrating the new library, Tampa residents also paid tribute to the late Thomas E. Duggan, whose family dedicated the structure in his memory.

?We wanted something in the shape of a post office as much as we could, and we used the Lost Springs Post Office as an example,? said Darla Hall, Dee and Thomas Duggan?s daughter.

Following Duggan?s death in October 2014, some of the memorial money went to the city of Tampa, to PRIDE and to Holy Redeemer Church in Tampa, Hall said.

Some memorial gifts were not earmarked for any particular project, and the idea of a little library seemed apropos.

?For those who knew Tom, he worked from morning to night and I never saw him sit down until he retired,? she said. ?When he retired, he read?kind of like Forest Gump, who started running and didn?t quit running. (Tom) started reading and didn?t quit reading.?

Reading anytime

Davis said the idea of having a little library open 24-7 is important because it means people can read, learn and grow.

?Remember, books are a ticket to a destination unknown,? he said. ?They can take us anywhere in the world.?

Tampa Mayor Tim Svoboda, said Duggan was an ?unsung hero? who did a lot for his community that people didn?t know about?including serving on countless committees.

Carla Hajek, with the Tampa PRIDE committee, said for the past six years the group had the idea of a LFL on its agenda.

?We would always talk about doing this and something would always come up,? she said. ?Tom was above all of us, and I think now we can all share in our community.?

Chris Costello also expressed gratitude for the Little Free Library.

?This really carries on Tom?s spirit in so many ways, and we are privileged to have a resurgence here in Tampa due to a lot of people,? he said. ?Tom certainly was one of them, and we appreciate that.?

Adding books

More than 30 people attended the event and about 10 contributed books.

Dee was the first to add a book, which was Tom Brokaw?s ?The Greatest Generation.?

One of her daughters, Deb, contributed ?Bedtime Stories,? because it was a book she read to her daughter Kaylee before she could read.

?A lot of times her Grandpa Tom would read her stories,? she said.

The Little Free Library is open to everyone, regardless of whether they live in Tampa.

?If somebody happens by and needs a book, there will be no limit on those books,? Darla Hall said.

Spohn said she hopes other towns will be inspired to have a Little Free Library, too.

The structure

The miniature post office is steel-work art, Darla said, and it was made in Lee?s Summit, Mo., by a man who has made a half dozen of them.

?We have a steel Ameri?can flag for the post office and the front window says ?Thomas E. Duggan,?? she said. ?There are also two sheaves of wheat to commemorate his farming background.?

Deb said: ?Probably everybody knows, but (Tom) was a postmaster and rural carrier for 40 years, which is why the little post office building.?

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