...so children can have books
One-Way
Library
The One-Way Library is a library with no return date, because the books never need to come back.
Children and families are invited to choose books freely from the preloved books donated to The Lighthouse Toowoomba, take them home and make them their own, removing the barriers of cost, membership and overdue notices.
Each book travels in one direction: out into the community, where it can be read, reread, treasured and shared.
More than a book-distribution program, the One-Way Library helps children build home libraries, strengthens family reading habits and ensures that every child can experience the dignity and delight of owning books chosen especially for them.
And the magical part? If a child DOES bring a book back, it is counted as a donation of a preloved book. Yes, the children experience their contribution as donors, receive a 'thank you' letter via the post, and know they are giving an opportunity to a peer to share their experience.
The Twinkles Outreach Reading Program brings the warmth and wonder of shared reading directly into schools. Week after week, a trusted reader reliably arrives, books in hand, to read aloud, listen, talk and share a genuine love of stories. That consistency matters: children know someone is coming especially for them. Through this simple, dependable relationship, Twinkles nurtures literacy, confidence, connection and a lifelong belief that reading is something joyful, comforting and worth making time for.
The program is entirely volunteer driven. The readers approach to their allocated school group is as unique as the readers themselves! Some read under a tree in the playground after hours, another during lunch time, more still share their love of literature in the classroom.
If this is your idea of a happy place, and you would like to volunteer, register today via our VOLUNTEER REGISTRATION on the CONTACT US page.
Donated books are given a second life through the One-Way Library. New and gently used books contributed by schools, families, businesses and community members are carefully sorted, then placed directly into the hands and homes of children who may otherwise have few books of their own. Every donation becomes more than a book... it becomes an invitation to read, imagine and grow.
The Birds Nest has multiple furnished offices for hire, with your own private key and car park.
