Art and literacy unite in library project

The Friends of the Shafter Library have launched the Book Bench project to inspire a love of reading across the community. This initiative combines art and literacy by placing benches designed to look like books, each painted with unique artwork, throughout town, promoting their mission to make literacy accessible and valued by all while beautifying public spaces with creative designs.

Modeled after a public art installation by the Bakersfield Museum of Art, the project began with its first bench, designed by artist Lorena Castillo, now located outside the Imagination Room at the Shafter Library & Learning Center. Featuring a train caboose and other artwork with the theme of "The Little Engine That Could," the display reinforces the book's positive message for children: "I think I can, I think I can," a reminder that believing in ourselves can help us achieve great things.

Katie Wiebe, president of the Friends of the Shafter Library, spearheads the project. "Our goal is to add more," she said in an interview. "We would love to partner with service clubs, schools, local businesses, anywhere a bench is needed. We could work together to install one and have it painted by a local artist. That's the second phase of the project."

With the project's focus on promoting literacy, Wiebe remarked, "The more kids are exposed to books and to reading, the more it is part of their daily life and becomes a part of our community identity. Hopefully, we'll have book benches around town that make Shafter unique. They will serve as a reminder of the importance of incorporating literacy into your life."

Another goal is beautifying spaces, and of the first book bench at the library, she noted, "What we have learned as Friends of the Shafter Library is one of the things that make us stand out in the library world is all the murals on the walls of the library. We know that when we add art and beautify our library, it creates a welcoming space that people want to visit, drawing them in and encouraging them to check out books and take advantage of the services the city offers through the library. Art helps pull people in, so anything we can do to make the space beautiful, welcoming and pleasing is valuable."

The artist Lorena Castillo, a muralist who created all the murals at the Shafter Library & Learning Center, is local to Shafter and has involved children in several of the library's mural projects. "They have helped her paint them. She is phenomenal; not only is she talented, but she also wants to build community through the arts, working with kids while celebrating community. She just brings a lot to the table."

The project was funded by the Virginia and Alfred Harrell Foundation. "Without their funding, we could never have gotten this project off the ground," Wiebe said.