Queen City Book Bank

Queen City Book Bank Unlocking our community's potential through literacy. QCBB is an exciting and innovative new approach to the traditional book distribution model.

The QCBB has established a unique online portal to receive, sort and distribute books to the estimated 35,000 Greater Cincinnati students in grades K-6 who lack consistent access to books and reading support materials. Our model will allow designated users (teachers, literacy and early childhood education advocates, program partners and other non-profits) to access the online portal and select boo

ks. QCBB will inspire the empowerment of self-selecting books based on interests, background, language and reading levels that is proven to drive sustained reading engagement in young students. In addition to book supply and distribution, the 20,000 square foot physical QCBB space serves as a hub for: tutoring, little free libraries, volunteerism, literacy information and community outreach. Connecting people who want to help with people who can use a little extra help is at the core of the Queen City Book Bank’s work each day.

🎉 We are proud to celebrate that QCBB's newest Little Free Library (LFL) is open for business! It was a joyous morning a...
06/05/2026

🎉 We are proud to celebrate that QCBB's newest Little Free Library (LFL) is open for business! It was a joyous morning as The Point Perk Coffee Shop's LFL in downtown Covington was unveiled, applauded by supporters. Much thanks to: Mary Kay Connolly of Read Ready Covington for driving literacy initiatives in our community, The Point Perk Coffee The Point/Arc of Northern Kentucky and Greater Cincinnati for embracing the role of stewardship for this new LFL, and for Covington Public Works Covington, Kentucky Government for completing the installation.

Special shout out to Kelly, the proud artist behind the beautiful artwork gracing this LFL, who has also worked at Point Perk for five years! Point Perk is a job training business venture of The Point Arc, whose mission is to is to provide opportunities to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. At this special place The Point Perk staff learn employable skills, good work habits, social skills, and teamwork. We are proud that this LFL resides at a spot where so many good things are happening to uplift our community!

Literacy awareness and support “takes a village” and this LFL is a perfect example of what can happen when a community comes together. Happy Reading Covington!

A big round of applause to all the students (and parents!) who showed up, rolled up their sleeves and went to work on QC...
06/04/2026

A big round of applause to all the students (and parents!) who showed up, rolled up their sleeves and went to work on QCBB’s high school volunteer day! Groups completed amazingly helpful work in our warehouses such as moving books and pallets and building boxes. Some students went above and beyond and met off-site at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Hamilton County Imagination Library to load over 120 boxes of books into our van and then unload at QCBB!

Thank you to Cincinnati Children's Hospital for your continued collaboration. The Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Hamilton County Imagination Library is part of the Imagination Library of Ohio, a statewide initiative that promotes early literacy and gives every child in Ohio free, high-quality books each month to children from birth through age five.

We are so appreciative for this day full of inspiring team effort that will help expand book access and create confident and capable readers!

Time for cake! After coming to QCBB for almost five years, Melinda has graduated from our tutoring program 🎉 We are so i...
06/02/2026

Time for cake! After coming to QCBB for almost five years, Melinda has graduated from our tutoring program 🎉 We are so impressed with her for continuing to work at her literacy skills and for showing up week after week, month after month and year after year. All of these touchpoints with reading add up to big results and we couldn’t be prouder! We also want to extend a huge thank you to her tutor, Kitty, and to all the literacy tutors in our program. We are in awe of your dedication of time and patience in helping adults reach their literacy goals! Melinda, we will miss your sweet smile and we wish you the very best 💕

Are your kids already saying this dreaded phrase: “I’m bored!”? Look no further than DOODLE POP! which runs June 4–7 at ...
05/29/2026

Are your kids already saying this dreaded phrase: “I’m bored!”? Look no further than DOODLE POP! which runs June 4–7 at the recently reimagined Emery Theater. This is a colorful, high-energy live theatrical experience presented by The Children's Theatre of Cincinnati.

Friends and supporters of Queen City Book Bank are invited to experience this internationally acclaimed production from Brush Theatre of Seoul, where storytelling leaps off the page and onto the stage through movement, puppetry, music, and stunning visual effects. This theater experience is ideal for ages 3–8 and is a perfect family outing in Cincinnati!

Queen City Book Bank supporters receive $5 off each ticket with code CANVAS when purchasing online at thechildrenstheatre.com or by calling 513-569-8080 x10.

Limit 4 tickets per person. Discount cannot be applied to previously purchased tickets.

The team at Synchrony moved mountains yesterday! They were a huge help in sorting through a large book donation, labelin...
05/28/2026

The team at Synchrony moved mountains yesterday! They were a huge help in sorting through a large book donation, labeling books heading to Ronald McDonald House Charities of Greater Cincinnati, filling book orders for three deserving community partners and assembling boxes - wow! We are appreciative of your time, energy and dedication to our mission. Synchrony is also running a book drive for QCBB! Thank you so much for your generosity in helping QCBB on multiple levels. We value your partnership!

05/27/2026

Proud to share the joy of reading with Esperanza Latino Center! Together we are unlocking our community's potential through literacy!

We are incredibly grateful to the JWC of Wyoming (Joint Women's Collaborative) for their generous grant in support of B...
05/26/2026

We are incredibly grateful to the JWC of Wyoming (Joint Women's Collaborative) for their generous grant in support of Brayden’s Books! This companion collection to Queen City Book Bank’s curated book distribution program honors the late Brayden Otten and celebrates the remarkable qualities he embodied — bravery, kindness, humor, tenacity, and the enduring power of friendship. Our CEO, Michelle Otten Guenther, (Brayden's aunt) was honored to accept the grant on behalf of QCBB. This marks the third year the JWC has supported this special initiative. We are deeply thankful for their continued partnership and for honoring Brayden’s legacy in such a meaningful way.

Pictured: Elizabeth Nelson, JWC President, and Michelle Otten Guenther

Summer is just around the corner! QCBB will be closed on Monday, May 25th in observance of Memorial Day. Tuesday, May 2...
05/22/2026

Summer is just around the corner! QCBB will be closed on Monday, May 25th in observance of Memorial Day. Tuesday, May 26th, marks the first day of our summer hours which will be Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Take note and hope to see you soon at QCBB!

We are grateful to the team from M/I Homes, Inc. for making a difference at QCBB! This industrious group prepped and la...
05/21/2026

We are grateful to the team from M/I Homes, Inc. for making a difference at QCBB! This industrious group prepped and labeled hundreds of books for the Book Bridge Program, placed name plates in and shelved another 600+ books for our distribution program, and moved a multitude of books into another section of the warehouse. As if that wasn’t impressive enough, M/I Homes donated 500 books from a recent book drive they held for QCBB and also presented us with a check. Thank you so much for helping QCBB in every way possible. Literacy champions like you help us keep our mission in motion and ensure that more children and families in our community have access to books!

It’s Little Free Library (LFL) Week! This week celebrates the national LFL organization’s mission to build community, in...
05/20/2026

It’s Little Free Library (LFL) Week! This week celebrates the national LFL organization’s mission to build community, inspire readers and expand book access via their global network of more than 200,000 book-sharing boxes. In Queen City Book Bank’s corner of the world, we’re celebrating the spring installation of LFLs with new locations popping up all over the tri-state! These LFLs keep our mission in motion by expanding book access to neighborhoods in “book deserts” (areas with limited or no access to reading) as well as community centers, schools, and more! We are beyond grateful to our dedicated LFL stewards, whether seasoned or brand new, for taking care of our now 261 installed LFLs! Thanks to you, more children and families can get books in hand and develop a love of reading. To find a QCBB LFL near you, click below for an interactive map and type in Queen City Book Bank.

https://queencitybookbank.org/pages/little-free-library

Address

1200 Gest Street
Cincinnati, OH
45203

Opening Hours

Monday 8:30am - 4pm
Tuesday 8:30am - 4pm
Wednesday 8:30am - 4pm
Thursday 8:30am - 4pm

Telephone

+15136217323

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