I'm reading The Book Woman Of Troublesome Creek this week, and although it is fiction, it is inspired by history. The scrapbooks were compiled by pack horse librarians during weekly report gatherings at county library headquarters, and included many contributions from library patrons along their routes. Intended as a child's book, DOWN CUT SHIN CREEK: The Pack Horse Librarians of Kentucky is filled with photos of the program established during the Depression of the 1930's. The region serviced by these pack horse librarians (mostly women) was the mining territory of Eastern Kentucky, and life was not easy for the resident families who had no chance of a different life or escape. As often is the case with books like this, I wanted to do some research on my own. Using their own horses or mules, or renting them from neighbors, the Pack Horse Librarians stuffed their saddlebags with books, magazines, Sunday school materials and carefully-assembled scrapbooks of stories, pictures and recipes. The scrapbooks were compiled by pack horse librarians during weekly report gatherings at county library headquarters, and included many contributions from library patrons along their routes. 28, No. “The librarians would go through these ragged magazines and dilapidated books and they would cannibalize them, deconstruct them, remix them and create these new scrapbooks.” -Jason Vance Women were very involved in the project which eventually had 30 different libraries serving 100,000 people. Pack horse librarians were known by many different names including "book women," "book ladies," and … Posted on February 1, 2020 by Art for Housewives. Health and safety measures were few and far between, Black Lung disease killed men by the hundreds, and the pay was poor. Librarians riding horses or mules traveled 50 to 80 miles a week up rocky creekbeds, along muddy footpaths, and among cliffs to deliver reading materials to the most remote residences and schools in the mountains. The story is significant in outlining the plight of ravished coal-mining communities in … 4, pp. University of Kentucky Libraries Special Collections Research Center. Both the history of the Pack Horse Librarians, and the history of the blue people of Kentucky. There are a few books on Amazon that feature the Pack Horse Librarians: one is child’s fiction based on fact, and the other is the true story behind these Pack Horse Librarians. “The librarians would go through these ragged magazines and dilapidated books and they would cannibalize them, deconstruct them, remix them and create these new scrapbooks.” -Jason Vance The carriers went out three to four times a week, a different route every day, each route being repeated about every two weeks. Lady enjoys book delivered by pack horse librarians circa 1930's courtesy alanis.simmons.edu. In 1940, Vance writes, 2,653 scrapbooks were circulated among Pack Horse Library …

The Pack Horse Librarians Of Eastern Kentucky In 1930s Kentucky, in coal country, books made their way to remote and isolated regions of the state through The Pack Horse … The average route was 18 miles, and the carrier traveled up to 80 miles a week. The pack horse librarians then carried the reading material (in everything from saddlebags to pillow cases) to schools and isolated cabins throughout the area. Both the history of the Pack Horse Librarians, and the history of the blue people of Kentucky. As often is the case with books like this, I wanted to do some research on my own. Established in 1935, the Pack Horse Library Project was aimed at providing reading materials to rural portions of Eastern Kentucky with no access to public library facilities.

(2012). Some librarians found a solution by compiling scrapbooks of magazine and newspaper clippings, anecdotes and local recipes. I do love a book that teaches me history! One of the libraries. 289-308. Librarians as Authors, Editors, and Self-Publishers: The Information Culture of the Kentucky Pack Horse Library Scrapbooks (1936–1943) Library & Information History: Vol. Lorena Hickcock, journalist and intimate friends with Eleanor Roosevelt, travelled to the Appalachia and witnessed the desperation and the struggle for survival. I'm reading The Book Woman Of Troublesome Creek this week, and although it is fiction, it is inspired by history. This is what I found on the Pack Horse Librarians. These became very popular in the region, enough so that patrons began making scrapbooks of their own recipes, family history, sewing patterns and child-rearing advice for circulation by the pack horse librarians throughout the community.