Help for the Library!

I would like to do something important for my new community, and want to ask your help. The City/County Library in Van Horn gets heavy use, which is encouraging given the high rates of (English) illiteracy in the region. The census figures I shared with you earlier tell the story. Many families are poor, and access to reading material is very limited. The library is across the street from the school complex, and kids are in there all the time. There many picture books for younger children, but beyond that the selection is astonishingly thin. I know being a librarian’s daughter has had some effect on my perspective, and I’ve been truly spoiled by the literary life in Iowa City, but there is a genuine need here for good fiction and non-fiction titles for all ages.

Van Horn is rich in many respects. The mountains are beautiful. You can always find great peppers and mangos in the grocery store. But reading material? There are few choices. There is a filthy, dark, unpleasant store with odd garage sale leftover books. The checkouts at the truck stops, the Dollar Store and the grocery store have a few magazines, but I’m not sure it is even possible to buy Time or Newsweek in Van Horn. While there are three terrific independent bookstores in the area, the closest one is in Marfa, an hour’s drive away. The library is pretty much it for good reading material.

You and I know this simple fact: before books can have any power, they have to be available to read.

Here’s where I ask my favor…..would you send me your good used books for our library? Or in true Iowa City fashion, I can purchase books on your behalf from our regional independent bookstores. I’ll purchase titles you’d like to share with others, or from the local librarian’s “wish list,” or perhaps I can help fill gaps I see in the collection. Your choice.

For my part, it would be a joy to facilitate this and to see local folks enjoying your books. I will personally handle your donation and will mail your receipt from the librarian. I’ll even tuck in a little West Texas surprise.

You can send books or donations to my address—P.O. Box 277, Van Horn, TX 79855. USPS is the best carrier for delivery to Van Horn, and there’s a bonus--they offer a discounted book rate!

I’d like to make an impact with this blog, and between stories about the burro lady and the dust storms, I’ll keep a running list of all the books donated to the library. I’m donating some volumes from my own library, so here’s a start:

A Year of Diet Desserts by Jan Bingham
Daybook: The Journal of an Artist by Anne Truitt
What Color is Your Parachute? by Richard N. Bolles
The Complete Stories by Flannery O’Connor (a favorite, and a duplicate in my collection)

Short of traveling to see you all during the holidays, this is my wish. You’ll make a difference to people in this beautiful isolated place.

Can I ask one more favor? If you know someone who would get a kick out of participating in this old-fashioned bookdrive, would you forward the address for this blog? The more the merrier! Thank you, my friends.