A campus book-sharing box has been established at Owen J. Roberts (OJR) High School thanks to the efforts of student Aleksandra Shapovalov, who completed the library as part of her OJR Middle School Gifted Project.

Aleksandra, the daughter of Igor and Tanya Shapovalov, is now a freshman at OJR High School. She built the library with the help of her father, and the box was installed by the OJR High School horticulture class last fall. OJR students are now free to take books from the box or donate ones that they have already read.

The book-sharing box is located near the campus greenhouse and next to the gazebo, providing a place for students to read outdoors when the weather turns warmer.

"I felt like this was a really good spot. It is a calm and relaxing area, and I thought it would be a good place to put the books," Aleksandra said.

She noted that Mary-Rita Bonner, the gifted mentor teacher for the project, received permission from the school to install the box and that Bonner donated some books to help get the library started.

Although there are kits with instructions provided on how to construct library sharing boxes, Aleksandra and her father did not make use of them.

"We built it from scratch. A lot of credit goes to my dad. He has a lot of knowledge in building things," she said, noting that shingles were installed on the roof of the box for added protection from the weather.

Aleksandra painted flowers on the white wooden box and painted on rules for the box's use. The rules read, "Don't vandalize. Take books to read (they are free) and leave books for others as long as they are appropriate." "Art is my thing. It is what I contributed the most," she said.

Aleksandra said she plans to monitor the box to make sure that the titles are suitable for students.