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Little Free Library is a national book-sharing movement that encourages literacy and sharing. If you need a book, take one. If you have a book, leave one.

Team members in the International Family Medicine Clinic have brought this idea to UVA Health so that we may better serve our patients for whom English is not their first language.

Claudia Allen, JD, PhD, Licensed Clinical Psychologist, Associate Professor of Family Medicine, Director of Behavioral Science; Fern Hauck, MD, MS, Professor of Family Medicine and Public Health Sciences, Director of the International Family Medicine Clinic; Ashlee Hurff, MD, Family Medicine Chief Resident; and Family Medicine team members spearheaded an effort to open a multilingual Little Free Library in the clinic’s waiting room.

UVA Health’s partnership with the International Rescue Committee (IRC) ensures that all refugees who come to Charlottesville through the IRC receive their initial care here. “We take care of all the IRC refugees when they first arrive and continue to care for them long-term. We’re their medical home,” says Hauck. “It also means that the Department of Family Medicine has a very international patient population.”

Since 2002, the International Family Medicine Clinic has seen over 3,700 individual patients, coming from 40 countries, and speaking more than 50 languages. Of the many challenges facing our international patients, one of the biggest is that, oftentimes, they do not speak English. Allen says, “Most of them take English classes and eventually learn the language — but that takes time. While they’re in that process, we know that it’s difficult for them to find books in their native language.”

How difficult? When was the last time you saw a book in written in Dari, Nepalese, Swahili, Arabic, or Pashto? Aside from Spanish (for which obtaining books is fairly easy), these are the five major languages spoken by patients in the International Family Medicine Clinic.

“Other than the books they have brought with them,” says Allen, “they don’t have access to any type of literature, non-fiction, or books to read to their children.”

This is problematic, Allen explains, because — through a program called Reach Out and Read — Family Medicine likes to provide an age-appropriate book to all young children during their wellness visits. “During these visits,” she says, “as part of the child-development screening process, we advise parents and caregivers to read to their children. We feel silly giving this advice when we know how difficult it is for them to find books.”

Little and Free, but Big and Valuable
The idea for the Little Free Library resulted from a session in behavioral health, explains Hurff. “As residents, we get to work with the Family Stress Clinic and get involved in the mental health of our patients. In one particular session, a patient came in who was a refugee and said that the only thing that she could do to escape from her thoughts — war back in her native country and family members she left behind — was to read. But she found it very difficult to find books in Arabic.” It was from this encounter that a conversation started that ultimately created the Little Free Library.

Many refugees experience struggles upon their arrival to the United States. Depression, anxiety, and trauma are not uncommon. “For these patients,” says Allen, “we encourage them to engage in positive activities. It’s way for them to help themselves. One of these activities could be reading — but again, it’s difficult when books are not available.”

The new Little Free Library will feature books for adults and children in the five most common languages that our patients speak (mentioned above.) Additionally, there will be books available in Spanish, English, Japanese, Chinese, Turkish, Russian, and more. The team is happy to expand to add other languages, as well.

“Our goal is to improve the literacy of families, to strengthen parent-child bonds, to provide a sense of welcome, and to build our international community here,” she says, “I am so excited that young families will have access to books to read to their children. Parent-child relationships are one of my passions. I love that we’re creating opportunities to foster and strengthen these bonds.”

Hauck says, “We are very proud of the care we provide for refugees. We help them with all of their medical and emotional needs, and providing free books written in their native language is just one more way in which we can help.”

The library opened on August 13 and Hauck, Allen, Hurff, and team members in Family Medicine are hopeful that it will expand over time to better serve our patients. Perhaps down the road it will be a Not-So-Little Free Library.

Thank you to project sponsors The Bama Works Fund and Congregation Beth Israel for supporting The Little Free Library at the International Family Medicine Clinic; to UVA Health for donating the bookshelf and providing promotional materials; and to Allen, Hauck, Hurff, and team members in Family Medicine for creating such a wonderful project.

If you would like to donate books (in any language) or money (to buy books), please visit the International Family Medicine Clinic’s website and click the “Support Our Work” link on the right.