Books by “any means necessary”

Posted by

Beth Houlton

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As Araba Maze read to her niece on the front steps of her Baltimore home, other kids kept dropping by to listen to her “stoop storytime.” Turns out, they didn’t have their own books or ready access to books nearby. So Araba took her own library work experience and founded “Storybook Maze” to serve urban “book deserts” like this one.

Since 2023, through free book vending machines and pop-up bookstores on the streets, she’s distributed over 7,000 books to kids. She continues stoop storytime and has almost reached her $100,000 fundraising goal to buy a mobile trolley that will bring books to more neighborhoods!

This National Library Week, read Maze’s story and learn how to support her efforts and your local public library here!

(Photo credit @Storybookmaze / Instagram)

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About the author

Beth Houlton believes in the power of words and individual actions to fuel positive change, especially when done in an intentional way that benefits us all. Personal and professional endeavors in journalism, law, music, community activism, and nonprofit organizations that work for the greater good provide a unique yet multi-faceted perspective and motivation for this movement.