Out of the Box Librarians

The transcription discusses the Pack Horse Librarians in Kentucky during the Great Depression, who delivered books by horse to those in need. They established libraries in various buildings and traveled long distances each week. They faced challenges such as impassable roads and resistance from the people. The project ended in 1943, but similar projects continue. The transcription also mentions the Street Books program in Portland, which provides books and essential items to the homeless. The street librarians bike to different locations and build relationships with the community. They also distribute Narcan to help reverse opioid overdoses. Both stories highlight the dedication and innovation of librarians. All right. Hi, everybody. I'm Kelly. And I'm here with? I'm Amy Scoggin. And I'm Mandy Slavery. All right. Since this is National Library Week, we decided to focus on some more out-of-the-box librarians that have impacted the world. Amy got the inspiration for this topic after learning about the Pack Horse Librarians. The librarians are really creative and really resourceful. So we thought that it would be interesting and inspirational to talk a little bit and learn a bit more about how librarians would go the extra mile to bring books to those in need. I can't wait to learn more about it. So Amy, where did you first hear about the Pack Horse Librarians? Yeah. So a few weeks ago, I was in Oregon, which I think is interesting because I know Mandy's going to talk about Oregon in a minute. And I walked into a bookstore. And I bought a book called The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek. And it was a fiction book. But it had a lot of historical components. And one of those components was the Pack Horse Library Project in Kentucky. So that's how I first heard about these amazing women that delivered books by horse. OK, awesome. So how did the Pack Horse Librarian Project begin? So this was right after the Great Depression hit in America. The Pack Horse Library Project was governed by something called the Works Progress Administration. And it was a part of President Roosevelt's New Deal. He was trying to encourage jobs. And Kentucky, in particular, had been hit really hard by the Depression. And they weren't readers. Over 31% of Eastern Kentucky was illiterate. And so they came up with this project. And it wasn't a new idea. There had been several previous and unsuccessful attempts to get books into the hands of Kentuckians. But this latched on. And it worked for quite a while. They established libraries in any building that would take it. So it may have been a church, or a school, or a post office. And then these carriers, or librarians, would load up either their own horse, or if they couldn't afford their own horse, they would rent a horse from a neighbor. Sometimes it was even a mule. And they would travel across the Appalachian Mountains. And they would cover an amazing amount of time and space on these horses. They would go about 100, 120 miles a week. And they did not get paid very much. But anything they got paid was more than they had before. Jobs were very scarce. And so this was something that single women really wanted. Because once you got married, you weren't eligible to be a pack horse librarian anymore. So they earned about $28 a month, which if you convert that into today's dollars, it's about $425 a month. So I think we can be grateful for our current salary. So they delivered these books. And most of the books that they had were donations from more affluent people. People heard about the cause, and they wanted to help. And so people would donate books. And that typically meant that the books were much older. But they were so grateful for what they had. And when the materials, I thought this was so interesting, when the materials became so worn out that they couldn't circulate anymore, they would cut them up and make new books. They would make them into cookbooks or scrapbooks. Or they would tell new stories. And then they would put them together, and then they would circulate those books. So they were very resourceful people. By 1936, the Packhorse Librarians had served over 50,000 people. And in 1937, they had serviced over 155 public schools. So they were really focusing on getting the books to the children. And what I thought was really interesting is when the kids saw the librarians coming, they were just like, oh, I want a book, a book, a book. It wasn't, I want a specific book. It was just give me any book you have. And so they did that. But I did see that one of the most popular titles was Robinson Crusoe. So I thought that was interesting also. But they just wanted to read. They just wanted to have something. Because they were used to oral storytelling, not reading from written word. OK, wow. Were there any other kind of challenges that they faced during that time? Yeah, absolutely. Traveling by horse, by mule, I can't imagine. It's very easy, especially in a mountainous region. But things like the roads would be impassable very often, especially in the winter months. And there was a story that I had read about one librarian that rode 18 miles when her mule died. And she still managed to finish her route. Because she ended up walking the rest of the way. But I think one of the biggest challenges for this project was the people themselves. They were very resistant. They didn't trust outsiders. As I had kind of mentioned before, they were used to oral storytelling. And so they had heard lots of stories and had passed on stories. But they didn't trust the written word and where it was coming from. And so very oftentimes, they did not get received very well. And so they really had to build a relationship with people and let them know that they were them. They were a part of them. Because they hired Kentuckians to do this. And so they were trying to establish that they weren't outsiders, that they weren't trying to bring in ideas that they didn't want to hear. The Packhorse Library did eventually end. About 1943 or so, efforts in the United States started to focus more on World War II. And so this particular project was no longer. But libraries keep going. 1946, Kentucky had bookmobiles. And there are several children's books about these particular librarians. One I saw that I think I'm going to just have to get and read myself was called The Horseback Librarians by Jane Yolen. And I just love her book. So I'm going to have to try to check that one out. But there are other projects along these lines. And it was just a really, really fun read. I loved reading about this group of people. That sounds amazing, this dedication to and through. Absolutely. All right, so now we're going to kind of fast forward to modern times. Mandy, I know you visited Portland last summer. And you learned about the Street Books program. Do you tell us a little bit more about them and kind of how you discovered these innovative librarians? Yeah, so last summer for my husband and I's 10th wedding anniversary, we decided to visit the Pacific Northwest. And Portland was just one of our stops along the way. And while there, we both love bookstores. And going to those types of places. And we went to, they were having the Rose City Book and Paper Fair in this hotel ballroom. So we were like, we're absolutely going to this. And when we were walking around, there was this booth that had what looked like an ice cream cart attached to a bike. And so we went over. But it was a library on wheels. And it was really cool because the creator of Street Books was there. Her name's Laura Moulton. She started it 11 years ago as an artistic gesture in Portland. And it has transformed into something so much more. It's now a full-on nonprofit. It has seven staff members, the seven street librarians, and then 12 board members. And it was really cool to get to talk to her. I kind of fangirled when she started telling me about what she did because it was so innovative and so cool. And something that started just like as an art project. But their mission is to help the homeless in Portland have access to books. Wow, that's amazing. Yeah. All right, so what does that look like in action? So it's really interesting. Like I said, they have seven staff members. And they're called street librarians. So they get their bikes and they bike to their locations. And those are all over Portland. They'll stay at those locations for like one to three hours. And after each one, and this is such a librarian thing to do, they'll write a shift report about what they learned, about what they needed. If somebody asks for a specific book, they write it all down as soon as they are done with their shift. But during that shift, they get to know people in that area, just talk to people. I mean, it's literally just the library in the streets. It's really cool. But they provide books, survival gear, really anything from reading glasses, tents, tarps, warm clothing, flashlights, Narcan, wound care supplies, and hygiene kits. Wow, that does sound like they kind of give a little bit of everything. Yeah. I have a question. What is Narcan? So this was something that my husband and I were both very unaware of. We knew that when we went to Portland that there was a lot of issues with their homeless. And there was a rise in drug use in the area. And so when we were talking to Laura and actually another lady who was from Texas, so it was a really fun connection to make, they were telling us about what all these shifts look like. And they had their pack laid out. And we saw the Narcan. And we were like, what's this? And so Narcan is a nasal spray that helps to reverse an opioid overdose. And I thought this was pretty intense. These are librarians. I'm in a high school librarian. And that seems like a big job for me to even think about trying to reverse an opioid overdose. But they were telling us, and I looked up the stats just because I wanted to see on Portland.gov, that they estimate the range of substance use among individuals living on the streets is between 58% and 88%. The low cost and prevalence of fentanyl has made it an increasingly popular drug. And so with this rise that they saw, street books realized that they could help out. And so when I was looking at their statistics from last year, I think they listed how many books they checked out, how many reading glasses they gave out. And I think it was like 1,600 or 1,700 doses of Narcan were distributed. So they helped save people just through books and through literally trying to reverse an opioid overdose. No, that's amazing. I mean, definitely listening to both of those stories, you know that librarians definitely are so much more than just reading books to kids and stuff like that. Librarians kind of do so much more than that. Absolutely. This group was just, I mean, they were just all so down to earth. I mean, like you could just tell that they really, like they were living out their mission every day because their mission says that all people deserve a place to belong, to be known, and to have access to safety and security and the resources to thrive. And I thought that was very cool. So that's what led me to street books. And she wrote a book that I can't wait to dive into. I'm sure it'll be an amazing book to read. Very insightful. All right, guys. So we see that every librarian is doing important work, whether they're reaching one person or a million. I love hearing about these amazing librarians and seeing all the good that they do for the world. They are a real inspiration for us as librarians and I'm sure all the people that they have impacted. There's so many more innovative librarians out there that I can't wait to discover and I'm sure you guys too. Thank you for sharing all that research with us. Yeah, thanks, Kelly. Thank you.