The Oxford community will have a ribbon cutting on the first little free library at Avent Park later today at 3 p.m.

The miniature library is a joint result of the Oxford Park Commission, L.O.U. Reads Coalition and its co-conveners, United Way of Oxford & Lafayette County, the Lafayette County Literacy Council and doctoral student Julie Ann Brandt.

Brandt said, “Oxford is a special place. A Little Free Library seemed like the perfect gift for this lovely literary community.”

The Little Free Library movement is part of an international effort to increase literacy and access to book by building and stocking mini-wooden libraries throughout the world. The libraries can be creatively built and hung in unique places, but the main purpose is for the community to have access.

Brandt’s father helped her by building the handmade wooden box. It is designed to protect the books from the elements. Brandt hopes the Little Free Library becomes a family favorite.

The Little Free Library will be stocked with books provided by Square Books, the Lafayette County & Oxford Public Library and local residents who gave to the L.O.U. Reads Book Drive last spring.

“We know that kids who are read to from an early age are far more likely to become readers themselves,” Meredith Wulff, executive director of the Lafayette County Literacy Council said.

“We also know that kids who read are more likely to become kids who succeed — in school, in jobs, and in life. This Little Free Library offers one more easy way for parents and kids to get books, take them home and enjoy them together,” Wulff said.