Our Place in the History of Giving Books
Here we are smack dab in the season for stories, among others, of a particular jolly guy delivering presents. Minus the pointy ears and silly shoes, BookGive volunteers show up throughout the city with treasures too, boxes filled with free books, sometimes in their own simple vehicles and sometimes with the help of Mavis the Magical BookMobile. Not exactly flying reindeer, but close.
Did you know that BookGive volunteers are far from the first to travel about distributing free books? Once upon a time…
…between 1935 and 1943, the Pack Horse Library Project delivered books to remote regions in the Appalachian Mountains as part of the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The pack saddle librarians, largely women, were often known to their patrons as “book women” or “book ladies.” Their visits were highly anticipated by folks living in far-remote and mountainous areas that could only be accessed by horseback – or more often by mule or on foot. No jingle bells necessary.
They delivered books to homes and schools as part of a donated lending library system also set up and run by the librarians who would solicit donations, catalogue books, newspapers, magazines, brochures, and pamphlets – really, any kind of reading material they could get their hands on.
Waiting for holiday gifts – especially if there might be some books – is hardly tolerable. Imagine having nothing left to read while waiting on the book women to arrive.
Some of the rural Appalachian residents had limited reading skills, so book ladies might take a few moments from their traveling duties to read to a patron or help teach reading skills.
They even took it upon themselves to mend books and assemble scrapbooks of interesting news along with recipes, gardening instructions and housekeeping hints collected from the local families along their route. The scrapbooks were much sought after by patrons and provided a way for the community to support each other during those rough years.
Sound a little familiar? BookGive gathers books from those who have extra and distributes them to those who have few. Our mission has made a big difference, especially in this not-so-easy time we’re currently living. Almost like giving and receiving, supporting each other through tough times is a natural human tendency.
The intrepid and dedicated pack horse librarians traveled their various routes weekly or twice-monthly, usually 100-120 miles in total, in all weather conditions, often over trackless terrain. They received $28 (around $495 in today’s dollars) in wages from the WPA every month from which they had to supply, board and feed their own horse or mule. One of the few paid jobs open to women at this time, their wages brought much-needed income to one of the poorest areas of the country.
Two recently published novels tell the story of this little-known program that helped people become more literate during the depression: The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson, and The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes, both of which can be ordered for direct shipping through BookBar. You can also check this Smithsonian Magazine article from a few years ago.
We feel a kinship with the brave book women who served around 1.5 million people during the Depression years. We’re not hauling on horseback through depression-era rural Appalachia, and so far we’ve only delivered 30,000 books (only!?), but we are living the same noble mission: bring books to where they are lacking. BookGive is honored to be part of such a long lineage.
Looking back on our place in the history of book access inspires us to look ahead with optimism. All of us at BookGive wish you a happy new year. We plan to extend the spirit of giving throughout 2021 and beyond. We hope you’ll continue to be part of the ongoing story.
Significant contributions to this blog post generously provided by BookGive volunteer writer, Phyllis Lundy. Click here to join our volunteer writing team.
