PACK HORSE LIBRARIANS: PROVIDING MORE THAN A BOOK SERVICE By Mary Davis

 By Mary Davis

In 1913, Mary F. Stafford started the first Pack Horse Library in Paintsville, Kentucky, supported by local coal baron John C. C. Mayo. When Mayo died the following year, the funding died with him and the program ended.

 

In the midst of the Great Depression, the WPA (Works Progress Administration) under the Second New Deal provided government work for the unemployed. Elizabeth Fullerton worked in the women’s and professional projects at the WPA and decided to resurrect Stafford’s concept. A Leslie County Presbyterian minister provided his library if the WPA would fund personnel to take the books to people who couldn’t get to a library. This initiated the new Pack Horse Library. The Pack Horse Library Project was established under the WPA in 1935. By 1936, eight of these libraries were in operation.

 

WPA Librarians

Pack Horse Librarians, mostly women, were hired to go into the remote parts of the Appalachian Mountains to deliver books to the residents who didn’t have access to a library. They carried approximately 100 books with them. These brave ladies (a.k.a. “Book Women”) traveled 50-100 miles a week by horse or mule and, sometimes, on foot or rowboat for $28 a month. Often, the only income their families had.

 

Librarian on Horseback

However, the money from this program only covered salaries, so books had to be obtained by other means. Many were the old or damaged books and periodicals larger libraries no longer had use for, as well as out-of-date text books from schools and churches.

 

The donated books would be repaired and readied by the head librarian at the local headquarters for delivery to individual homes and schoolhouses. Resourceful librarians made card catalogs out of cheese boxes and bent old license plates into bookends.

 

In the beginning, there were 800 books for 5-10,000 people, not nearly enough to go around. The residents were hungry for reading material, so librarians put together scrapbooks of newspaper and magazine clippings as well as anecdotes and local recipes. These became so popular, that the patrons made some of their own with family history, child-rearing advice, recipes, and sewing patterns to be circulated by the Pack Horse Librarians. Some 200 different books had been created by librarians and patrons.

 

Librarian at a School

PTAs and women’s clubs helped to raise funds for new books, and communities had book drives and open houses. The program grew to 30 libraries, servicing 100,000 patrons. In addition to distributing books, the librarians provided reading lessons, would read aloud to people, and brought new ideas to these isolated areas. As outsiders, they were sometimes not welcomed.

By 1936, the collection had grown to around 33,000 books that were circulated to about 57,000 families. There was generally a one-week lending period.

 

Book Woman Reading to Man

One book woman guided her horse across cliffs to get to her patrons. Another walked her eighteen-mile route after her mule died. And yet another walked beside her mule because it was old. The librarians had to furnish their own horse or mule, which were often leased. The Pack Horse Librarian project continued until 1943 when the government funding was withdrawn.

 

Whether by horse, mule, on foot, or boat, these brave pack horse librarians never wavered from their goal.

Happy Reading!

 

UNPUZZLING THE PAST

1990s Cozy Mystery

Written by Mary L. Chase, Edited By Mary Davis

When secrets and lies are uncovered, will Mar be able to put the pieces together to learn the truth? A year after the death of her mom, Margaret Ross discovers the proverbial skeleton in the closet. Most families have a secret or two. Some are best left alone. Others need to be brought to the light of day to heal old wounds. With the help of her best friend, a lawyer, and a handsome doctor, Mar determines to hunt down all the facts. When she does, will she find what she’s searching for? Or should she let this puzzle R.I.P.?

MARY DAVIS, bestselling, award-winning novelist, has over thirty titles in both historical and contemporary themes. Her latest release is THE LADY’S MISSION. Her other novels include MRS. WITHERSPOON GOES TO WAR, THE DÉBUTANTE'S SECRET (Quilting Circle 4) THE DAMSEL’S INTENT (Quilting Circle 3) is a Selah Award Winner. Some of her other recent titles include; THE WIDOW’S PLIGHT, THE DAUGHTER'S PREDICAMENT, “Zola’s Cross-Country Adventure” in The MISSAdventure Brides Collection , Prodigal Daughters Amish series, and "Bygones" in Thimbles and Threads. She is a member of ACFW and active in critique groups.

Mary lives in the Rocky Mountains with her husband of thirty-nine years and one foster cat. She has three adult children and three incredibly adorable grandchildren. Find her online at:

 Books2Read  Newsletter  Blog   FB  FB Readers Group   Amazon   GoodReads   BookBub

 

Sources

https://settlementlibrary.blogspot.com/2009/12/pack-horse-library-project.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pack_Horse_Library_Project

HAVE BOOK WILL TRAVEL By Mary Davis

 

By Mary Davis

 

“No better method has ever been devised for reaching the dweller in the country. The book goes to the man, not waiting for the man to come to the book.”

Mary Lemist Titcomb, creator of the first U.S. bookmobile in 1904

 

The first recorded mobile library dates back to 1858 when the Perambulating Library, as it was called, rolled through the streets of Warrington, England. The Warrington Mechanics’ Institute in Cheshire, England, which was eager to increase the borrowing from its library, devised a plan to purchase a one-horse wagon and fill it with books to take to the people. The local residents loved the idea so much they enthusiastically organized a flower show and bazaar to raise the funds. Starting November 15^th  of that year, the Perambulating Library began its weekly rounds, increasing the borrowing from 3,000 books a year to 12,000 and continued until 1872.

 

Warrington Perambulating Library

 

The U.S. Version of a perambulating library was the brainchild of Mary Lemist Titcomb. She was a library organizer in Vermont for twelve years before moving to Hagerstown, MD, in 1901. She jumped into organizing the fledgling Washington County Free Library established in 1898 (the first incorporated county-wide library in the country).

 

Old Washington County Library, built 1900-01

 

Titcomb believed that giving out books was only a small part of the mission of a library.

“There is a great army of men and women, who use our public libraries to read because it gives them pleasure—because through books they are lifted out of all routine of every-day life, their imaginations are quickened and for the brief space that the book holds them in thrall the colors of life assume a brighter tint.”

Mary Lemist Titcomb

  

Mary Lemist Titcomb

In 1901, Titcomb set up “deposit stations” in remote area stores and Sunday Schools with thirty to forty books. After four years, she had set up sixty-six stations. However, this wasn’t good enough for her. There were still many people not being serviced by the library. So in 1903, she convinced the library Board of Trustees to secure a Carnegie grant for a wagon to take the books to the people. The first book wagon, driven by Joshua Thomas, the library’s janitor, rolled through the countryside in April 1905, pulled by Dandy and Black Beauty.

 

Dandy & Black Beauty Book Wagon circa 1905

 

In the first six months, Thomas made the trek around the county’s backroads three times a week, averaging thirty miles each, for a total of thirty-one trips. Two drawbacks to this wagon were that the wooden doors on the sides made it impossible to see that there were books, and it was painted black. These factors made people think it was a “dead wagon” and urged it to pass on by due to superstitions. A new coat of paint and glass doors remedied this problem.

 

In August of 1910, tragedy struck the book wagon—or more accurately a freight train did. The driver and horses were unharmed, but the wagon was destroyed. The Carnegie grant had run out, so the county went without bookmobile service for a year until they could get additional funding. The horse and wagon were deemed outmoded, and the first motorize bookmobile hit the roads.

 

The 1930s ushered in the era of the Pack Horse Library Project. Librarians, mostly women, were hired under the Second New Deal to travel by horse or mule into the remote parts of the Appalachian Mountains. They delivered books to the residents who didn’t have access to a library. This program ran from 1935 to 1943.

 

Pack Horse Librarians

Regardless of the mode of transportation, libraries and librarians have been determined to get books into the hands of those who want to read. Bookmobiles had their heyday in the 1960s and 1970s. There are still a few around the world.

 

Happy Reading!

 

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MARY DAVIS, bestselling, award-winning novelist, has over thirty titles in both historical and contemporary themes. Her latest release is THE LADY’S MISSION. Her other novels include THE DÉBUTANTE'S SECRET (Quilting Circle Book 4) THE DAMSEL’S INTENT (The Quilting Circle Book 3) is a SELAH Award Winner. Some of her other recent titles include; THE WIDOW'S PLIGHT, THE DAUGHTER'S PREDICAMENT, “Zola’s Cross-Country Adventure” in The MISSAdventure Brides Collection, Prodigal Daughters Amish series, "Holly and Ivy" in A Bouquet of Brides Collection, and "Bygones" in Thimbles and Threads. She is a member of ACFW and active in critique groups.

Mary lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband of thirty-seven years and one cat. She has three adult children and three incredibly adorable grandchildren. Find her online at: Books2Read Newsletter Blog FB FB Readers Group Amazon GoodReads BookBub

 

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warrington_Perambulating_Library

https://www.appalachianhistory.net/2018/04/first-bookmobile-in-country.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bookmobile

https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2018/04/10/library-on-wheels-sharlee-glenn

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pack_Horse_Library_Project

That Book Woman and the Pack Horse Librarians of Kentucky

  __By Tiffany Amber Stockton__

In August, I covered bathing costumes and swimwear to wrap up the summer. Since I recently saw a play performed on this topic and school is back in session after summer break, let's take a look at some amazing women who personally increased literacy rates between WWI and WWII and beyond.

That Book Woman!

Next month, I'll go into more detail about The Pioneer Playhouse in Danville, Kentucky, as it was the site of a play I recently attended with other local authors. Based off Heather Henson's children's book of the same name, That Book Woman showcased the bravery and ingenuity of the ladies who came to be known as Packhorse Librarians.

Many books have been written on this subject, and books delivered by horseback to remote areas has stretched far beyond just the Appalachian Mountain region. Given the sometimes treacherous conditions under which these women delivered books and the animosity they often faced, their lasting tale comes as no surprise.

Picture this: it’s 1935, and you’re in the rugged hills of Eastern Kentucky. Roads are scarce, and the nearest library might as well be on the moon. But wait—here comes your hero on horseback, not with a six-shooter but with a saddlebag full of books!

This isn’t the plot of a Western; it’s the Pack Horse Library Project, a real-life story of grit and determination. These brave "book women" saddled up to deliver knowledge to the most isolated communities. They didn’t just drop off books—they brought the world to people who had never seen it.

Imagine riding 50 to 80 miles a week, navigating rocky paths and crossing rivers, sometimes on foot or by rowboat. Your cargo? Damaged books, old magazines, and out-of-date textbooks that bigger libraries didn’t want anymore. But to these mountain families, they were treasures.

Demand was high, and the book women had to get creative. They made scrapbooks full of magazine clippings, local recipes, and sewing patterns. Soon, the locals joined in, creating their own scrapbooks with family histories and child-rearing advice. These homemade collections became a beloved part of the library’s offerings.

By 1936, the need for more books was clear. Enter Lena Nofcier and her Penny Fund Plan. She rallied the Kentucky PTA, boy scouts, Sunday schools, and anyone who would listen to donate or gather books. Her efforts were so successful that eight new pack horse libraries were born.

At its peak, the program served nearly 100,000 people across 30 libraries. It brought adventure, travel, and romance to the mountains, sparking imaginations and fostering a love for reading in children and adults alike.

Sadly, the program ended in 1943 when funding was cut. But the legacy of the pack horse librarians lived on, inspiring the introduction of bookmobiles in the late 1950s.

So next time you curl up with a good book, think of those brave librarians. They didn’t just deliver books; they delivered hope, knowledge, and a glimpse of a world beyond the hills.

The Pack Horse Librarians of Kentucky played a significant role in promoting literacy and access to education in rural areas during a time of great need. Their efforts helped bridge the educational gap and brought reading materials to communities that would have otherwise been without them. Today, their story serves as a testament to the power of innovative library services and the dedication of librarians who went above and beyond to serve their communities.

NOW IT'S YOUR TURN:

* What was your first introduction to books and reading?

* Do you recall your first visit to a library? When was the last time you utilized a library?

* Have you ever been visited by a bookmobile service? Where? They're basically the modern-day version of a pack horse librarian, just on wheels.

** This note is for our email readers. Please do not reply via email with any comments. View the blog online and scroll down to the comments section.

Come back on the 9th of each month for my next foray into historical tidbits to share.

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BIO

Tiffany Amber Stockton has been crafting and embellishing stories since childhood, when she was accused of having a very active imagination and cited with talking entirely too much. Today, she has honed those skills to become an award-winning, best-selling author and speaker who is also a professional copywriter/copyeditor. She loves to share life-changing products and ideas with others to help improve their lives in a variety of ways.

She lives with her husband and fellow author, Stuart Vaughn Stockton, along with their two children, one dog, and three cats in southeastern Kentucky. In the 20+ years she's been a professional writer, she has sold twenty-six (26) books so far and is represented by Tamela Murray of the Steve Laube Agency. You can find her on Facebook and GoodReads.