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No library in your hometown? Create one yourself!
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WHEN LEE STOLIAR-DUFRESNE is surrounded by books and by people who love to read as much as she does, she’s happy. So happy, in fact, that when she and her family moved to the small New York town of Charlotteville and discovered that it had no library, she couldn’t rest until she’d built one. Lee rallied her new community of 300 to donate lumber and supplies, build shelves and find books. Years later, the Charlotteville Reading Center is thriving. Run by Lee and a dedicated committee of volunteers who divvy up the duties, the library is a bustling community center, known for its book club and weekly story hours.
Q: Why did you feel it was so important to have a library?
A: Charlotteville has a fire department, a general store, a post office and a museum with local history and artwork, but no real place for people to gather on a daily basis. I got a huge response to my phone calls for volunteers and realized how eager other people were to come together.
Q: How did you get the community on board to make this project happen?
A: The key was the local master carpenter, who I knew could build the shelves we needed and also inspire others to get involved. I went to him right after the committee gave us the go-ahead. We sat on the steps behind his shop on a sunny day and I laid it all out. As soon as he said yes, I knew that we would have a library and that the bookshelves would be a source of great pride to people. But I also called up my friends who are mothers, because I thought they’d like the idea of working together and with their kids.
Q: What did the kids do?
A: Everything from preparing the shelving to rolling out the carpet to sorting National Geographic magazines. My daughter, who’s 14, sanded shelves, did cataloging and labeling, and embraced the defining of categories and spine labeling as her own special areas. Now she looks at a book and says, “Ma, that should be in ________!”
Q: What was your biggest obstacle?
A: Cutting hot-air vents. They’d been up against the walls, but needed to be moved so they’d be on the floor in front of the new bookcases. This came up early, before people had confidence in the project. The schoolhouse had been empty for years, but people cared about the building and were hesitant to cut into the floor. It required a lot of diplomacy; they had to take a leap of faith in me.
Q: Do you get overwhelmed with books?
A: When we opened, our community was so enthusiastic about donating books! Every time the schoolhouse held one of its pancake breakfasts, we’d have to hide boxes under tables to get them out of the way. Soon we learned to sell the surplus to raise money, and we began to make the most of what we had, rotating the books each season.
Passing Books Along
These groups find homes for gently used books: Reader to Reader matches donated books with needy school libraries; readertoreader.org. International Book Project collects used books and distributes them to developing countries and within the United States; intlbookproject.org. Public libraries accept undamaged books but may sell them to raise money for operating budgets. Call to find out what’s needed.
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