The Collection Connection

Photo courtesy of WPA collection, Archives and Records Management Division, Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives

For library patrons in early 20th century eastern Kentucky, visits by the packhorse librarian were the highlight of the day, and nearly as good as a visit from Santa. "At nearly every home there is a flock of dear little children who will look upon the book-wagon as a near relative of Santa Claus." Berea College Library Report, 1917-18, Box 28, Folder: "Reports, 1916-21," BCA. In this issue, learn more about the fascinating history of the packhorse librarians of Kentucky, an innovative library service that delivered books and other reading material to remote mountain schools and residences in Appalachia. Check out our new and notable titles too, and give yourself the gift of great reading over the holidays! Also in this issue: significant dates for bibliophiles this winter and database spotlight Academic Search Complete.

See something of interest? Click on the hyperlinked title to be taken to the item record in our catalog, sign in, and click Send to My Office. Only like general and genre fiction? We also have all types of fiction in large print and audiobooks in our collections, as well as plenty of fiction eBooks/audiobooks through Kentucky Libraries Unbound.

Bestsellers

• The Exchange by John Grisham
• The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
• Icebreaker by Hannah Grace
• Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros
• The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory by Tim Alberta
• My Name is Barbra by Barbra Streisand
• Oath and Honor by Liz Cheney
• The Woman in Me by Britney Spears

Employee Wellness & Workplace

Finance/Legal

• 12 Ways to Retire on Less: Planning an Affordable Future by Harriet Edleson
  

• Get Good with Money: Ten Simple Steps to Becoming Financially Whole by Tiffany Aliche
  

• Governing By Contract: Challenges and Opportunities for Public Managers by Phillip J. Cooper
  

• Seen, Heard, and Paid: The New Work Rules for the Marginalized by Alan Henry
  

Health/Wellness

• Get It Done: Surprising Lessons From the Science of Motivation by Ayelet Fishbach
  

• How to Ask for and Get What You Want: Commonsense Tips That Work by Catherine DePino
  

• The Joy of Well-Being: A Practical Guide to a Happy, Healthy, and Long Life by Colleen & Jacob Wachob
  

• Upstream: The Quest to Solve Problems Before They Happen by Dan Heath
  

Parenting

• Has Your Child Been Traumatized?: How to Know and What to Do to Promote Healing and Recovery by Melissa Goldberg Mintz
  

• Mom Milestones: The True Story of the First Seven Years by Grace Farris
  

• There's No Such Thing as Bad Weather: A Scandinavian Mom's Secrets for Raising Healthy, Resilient, and Confident Kids (From Friluftsliv to Hygge) by Linda Åkeson McGurk

• Unlocking the Teenage Brain: Helping Parents Understand and Support Their Teenager by Kimberly Hinman
  

Technology

• The Meta-Verse: And How It Will Revolutionize Everything by Matthew Ball
  

• Office 365 All-In-One for Dummies by Peter Weverka with Timothy L. Warner
  

• Podcasting by Tee Morris and Chuck Tomasi
  

• Python for Teenagers: Learn to Program Like a Superhero! by James R Payne
  

Workplace

• Crisis Communication Strategies: Prepare, Respond and Recover Effectively in Unpredictable and Urgent Situations by Amanda Coleman
  
• Right Within: How to Heal From Racial Trauma in the Workplace by Minda Harts
  
• Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised by General Henry M. Robert, U.S. Army.
  
• Thanks for Coming in Today : Creating a Culture Where Employees Thrive and Customer Service is Alive by Charles Ryan Minton
  

Kentucky Highlights in Fiction and Non-Fiction

• The Assault on Elisha Green: Race and Religion in a Kentucky Community by Randolph Paul Runyon
  
• The Birds of Kentucky by Burt L. Monroe, Jr.
  
• Drowned Town by Jayne Moore Waldrop
  
• The Girl Singer: Poems by Marianne Worthington
  

• House of Champions: The Story of Kentucky Basketball's Home Courts by Kevin Cook
  

• Perfect Black by Crystal Wilkinson
  
• Washington's Iron Butterfly : Bess Clements Abell, An Oral History by Donald A. Ritchie and Terry L. Birdwhistell

Today, every county in Kentucky has access to a free public library with a full range of information resources available to all regardless of age, race, gender, income level, disability, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and ideology. Libraries are a powerful unifying force not only for access to literacy and learning, but also as community centers: promoting entrepreneurship; connecting people to each other; partnering with other area government and private institutions to facilitate access and identify citizen needs; and serving as a repository for community history and story sharing.1 However, in early 20th century Kentucky, library services, particularly in eastern Kentucky, were very limited. Per researcher Donald C. Boyd:

The annual per capita expenditure of ten cents was well below the American Library Association recommendation of one dollar. Most public libraries in Kentucky were located in the larger cities, and they relied heavily on the philanthropy and volunteerism of private groups, especially local and state women's organizations. As a result, 63 % of Kentucky's residents had no access to public libraries at the beginning of the Great Depression, most rural schools had no library, and schoolchildren in the Kentucky mountains rarely had the experience of taking home a book to read. 2

There were several attempts to establish library outreach programs beginning as early as 1896, but none took root and had outstanding success until the 1930s when the federal Works Progress Administration, one of Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal programs, was created. In his 1932 presidential nomination acceptance speech Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaimed that "the rights of personal competency—the right to read, to think, to speak, to choose a mode of life—are inviolable." 2 As part of that pledge, the WPA's Pack Horse Library Project was born. It's purpose was to serve the most isolated and poorest counties in Kentucky. Librarians on horseback (or mule) would deliver books and magazines to Appalachian families and remote schools. These librarians would work out of small libraries set up in each county. In the beginning, packhorse libraries were established in six counties. By the end of the program in 1943, nearly 1,000 packhorse librarians had served 1.5 million patrons in 48 Kentucky counties. 2

Packhorse librarians were hired from among the local populace, one of the reasons the program was successful as they were already trusted members of the community. Per Douglas C. Boyd,

Each packhorse library was staffed with five or six "carriers" and one librarian who stayed at the center library and was responsible for maintaining the collection (mostly used books donated by churches, colleges, individuals, and larger libraries), reconditioning books, and formulating carrier routes as well as seeing walk-in patrons."

In exchange for serving rural schools, the libraries were provided rent, heat, and lights by the local school board. 2 Some of the librarians were men, but the vast majority were women who were paid a monthly salary of $28 per month and rent. They had to provide their own packhorses and pay for the food and boarding of their animals. They were also required to ride a set of routes twice per month with routes averaging about 100 to 120 miles per week over rugged backwoods and mountains, creek beds, ravines, and along cliff lines in all types of weather. Packhorse librarian duties didn't end with braving rough terrain and the elements to deliver reading and instruction material to residents and schools though. They also read to the sick and injured, passed along messages from one home to the next on their routes, delivered news, and even delivered medicine. They acted as communication lifelines in the areas they served.

Just as quickly as they appeared, the packhorse librarians vanished with the dismantling of the program in 1943 due to wartime job creation. Once again, eastern Kentuckians were without library outreach services until the 1950s when paved and improved roads brought increased access to the region. 2 However, the spirit of the packhorse librarians came full circle as, per Douglas C. Boyd,

"In 1956 Kentucky Representative Carl D. Perkins (Democrat, District 7) introduced legislation that provided the first federal funding to public libraries. This funding specifically supported bookmobile services to remote communities across the nation. Congressman Perkins had been a teacher in a one-room schoolhouse in Knott County during the 1930s, and he credited the packhorse librarians for his lifelong support of public libraries."

1 “What Libraries Do.” I Love Libraries,

American Library Association, 24 May 2023, ilovelibraries.org/what-libraries-do/.

2 Boyd, Douglas C., "The Book Women of Kentucky: The WPA Pack Horse Library Project, 1936

1943," Libraries & the Cultural Record 42, no. 2 (2007): 111-128.

• Join author Linda LaPinta as she discusses her new book Kentucky Quilts and Quiltmakers: Three Centuries of Creativity, Community, and Commerce on January 14, 2 PM, Frazier History Museum, Louisville. Guests can purchase copies of Kentucky Quilts and Quiltmakers from the museum’s shop and the author will be available to sign them.
  
• Keeneland Lecture Series - Keeneland Library has announced their 2024 Winter/Spring Lecture Series with four ticketed events that celebrate recently published works about Thoroughbred racing whose authors conducted research at Keeneland Library in Lexington. Authors discuss their books, with each presentation followed by a reception and book signing.
• Sown in the Stars: Book Chat & Seed Swap at the Kentucky Historical Society, Frankfort at 2 PM on February 10. Join author Dr. Sarah Hall as she discusses her newest book Sown in the Stars: Planting by the Signs. After the discussion, gardening enthusiasts are encouraged to join in a “seed swap.” Sign up and bring your favorite pack of heirloom seeds.
  

Are you a new state employee unaware of the benefits you can derive from a State Library account? Have you had an account for a while, but would like to learn more about our services and the WorldCat Discovery search tool? We will be holding a webinar in early February on State Library services available to state employees. Please join me in this introductory session designed to explore the ins and outs of requesting materials; downloading materials; using Ask-A-Librarian; researching topics with our databases; and more. Check the Training Events Calendar for registration information coming soon!

Academic Search Complete (ASC), an EBSCO product, is a scholarly, multi-disciplinary full-text database, with more than 8,500 full-text periodicals; indexing and abstracts for more than 12,500 journals; monographs, reports and conference proceedings. It was first published in 1997 by EBSCO Publishing in Ipswich, Massachusetts., so has a long history of providing meticulous curation, indexing and precise/accurate full-text linking of journals. Subject areas covered include: animal science, anthropology, area studies, astronomy, biology, chemistry, civil engineering, electrical engineering, ethnic and multicultural studies, food science including related technology, general science, geography, geology, law, materials science, mathematics, mechanical engineering, music, pharmaceutical sciences, physics, psychology, religion and theology, veterinary science, women's studies, zoology and many other fields. It is updated daily and includes Ahead of Print content for relevant titles from key publishers. EBSCO databases support all learning types through textual and visual subject browse and information literacy training through subject access points in more than 30 languages. You really can't go wrong by starting your research within this database! To check it out, just click on the Research Databases button below. Click on the KYVL icon, then Databases in the orange menu bar, and then click EBSCO.

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