Longtime Ceres resident Sheril Vinaja so enjoys books that she is promoting reading with a “little free library” that she created in her front yard.

Vinaja is the steward of the library which is set up in her yard near the sidewalk along Havenwood Way in Ceres. The new “Little Free Library” charter #89951 is located near Blaker and Hackett roads.

“I’ve talked about doing this for a long time and this year my family made my dream come true,” said Sheril. “It was a surprise birthday present. Now that it has been up and running it is a gift to the whole neighborhood.”

Vinaja said she wanted to join the movement to share books, bring people together and create communities of readers.

“Our goals are to add a sense of friendliness and community and to promote literacy in children and adults. Also, I would love to reach out to others in our city to support and collaborate with them to start more neighborhood little free libraries.”

Little free libraries are a global phenomenon with an estimated more than 75,000 book exchanges around the world in 85 countries.

Like most little free libraries, Vinaja stocked the shelves with a variety of books. Anyone can stop by and take a book or two that catches their eye, hopefully to restock with books contributions when possible.

The Little Free Library nonprofit organization has been honored by the Library of Congress, the National Book Foundation, and the American Library Association, and Reader’s Digest named them one of the “50 Surprising Things We Love about America.” Each year, nearly 10 million books are shared in Little Free Libraries.

To learn more about the concept, visit littlefreelibrary.org or check out Vinaja’s Facebook page, fb.me/cereslittlefreelibrary