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The Project's Success
The Project's Success
What made the Pack Horse Library project a success was ultimately the local nature of the project in a region where outside influence was strongly rejected. Not only were the librarians members of the community who already understood local needs and customs and could serve their patrons based on this knowledge, but the project established small community libraries from which librarians would obtain their materials. This created a sense of local ownership that May Kunz underscored in her statement that the project spent much of their time and effort “educating people to the fact that these libraries belong to the community” and that project leadership encouraged libraries to call themselves “County Library” with “assisted by WPA” as a small subtitle. (Jeffrey 2001)
Additionally, because the WPA only paid for the salaries of the librarians, and not for resources or storage, the project required a community effort to continue. Local groups across the commonwealth and beyond provided reading materials, and a local sponsor provided a library center. In doing this, the project became less of a government charity endeavor, and more of a community-owned effort.
Finally, the resourcefulness of individuals involved in the project led to its success. Faced with limited resources, not only did state officials such as Lena Nofcier come up with new ways to raise funds for reading material purchase, but the librarians themselves ensured that no donation went to waste through the creation of their scrapbooks. The scrapbooks both supplemented the project’s limited collection but also served as collections of recipes, household tips, knitting and quilting patterns, and more from the patrons themselves, further creating a sense of community as patrons shared knowledge with each other.
Why Study it?
Why Study it?
Although the project was short-lived and limited to one region of Kentucky, it is still worth studying for the very reasons that made it successful. It was a deeply local project that continues to elucidate the ability of libraries to make an impact in their communities by responding to the needs of their specific patrons. While a pack horse library extension project may not be the best solution to a lack of library services in a community today, it was the exact kind of project that Eastern Kentucky needed in the 1930s, and provided local solutions to a local problem.
No two local public libraries are alike, in terms of the services they provide, people they employ, and communities they serve, therefore the projects they undertake to better serve their patrons cannot be exactly the same, and the Pack Horse Library Project is an excellent example of this.
Where Does it Fit in Library History?
Where Does it Fit in Library History?
Finally, the WPA Pack Horse Library project provides a fascinating look at creative solutions to library access issues, the historic role of women in librarianship, and the impact of libraries in communities. The project found a way to deliver library materials to remote and previously inaccessible parts of mountainous Eastern Kentucky. It was primarily run and operated by women, especially local women, from Eleanor Roosevelt to the local librarians.
The project also established a precedent for library extension in Eastern Kentucky, and public library establishment across the commonwealth. It also aided in rising standards of health and hygiene of the communities it served, and brought reliable information to those who would not have had access otherwise.
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