{"id":6927,"date":"2022-05-20T17:17:42","date_gmt":"2022-05-20T17:17:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/?p=6927"},"modified":"2023-05-26T22:24:00","modified_gmt":"2023-05-26T22:24:00","slug":"the-characters-behind-durhams-tiny-libraries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2022\/05\/20\/the-characters-behind-durhams-tiny-libraries\/","title":{"rendered":"The characters behind Durham\u2019s tiny libraries"},"content":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s a mini-fridge in a front yard on Shepherd Street. At first glance, it looks like the Whirlpool has lost its life to the vicious cycle of college move-in and move-out. In its heyday, it would have been home to half-eaten Taco Bell orders and 12-packs of Bud Light, but it is now filled with books new and old (that the Bud Light drinkers probably didn\u2019t read). The mini-fridge in Morehead Hill is one of Durham\u2019s many tiny libraries.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On this day it contains a random assortment of what Durham is reading (or \u2026 not reading): <\/span>A History of Japan to 1334, Fluffy Bunnies<\/span><\/i> and <\/span>The Maddie Diaries: A Memoir<\/span><\/i>. Like all the tiny libraries, the books in the fridge are free for the taking so long as the borrower replaces the book they take with one of their own.<\/span><\/p>\n

There\u2019s no official count, but a map kept by Kat Barbosa, an enterprising tracker of the little library movement, indicates more than 150 in Durham. Some are part of a national nonprofit called Little Free Library that sells, standardizes, and tracks the outposts for literary freecycling. Others are unaffiliated \u2014 and even include the occasional mini-fridge. Together they provide Durhamites with all the James Patterson novels (there seems to be one in every box) they could (n)ever read.<\/span><\/p>\n

Typically, the tiny libraries aren\u2019t former beer chillers. Usually they are wooden boxes, about half the size of a mini-fridge, mounted on posts and planted where passersby might notice them. Some are utilitarian, resembling birdhouses. Others are more ornate \u2014 carved into the side of a tree or built out of a repurposed newspaper box.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the age of e-this and upload-that, with the contents of infinite libraries available to readers at the click of a button, the thought of even heading to the local public library seems to be a dream of days gone by. Little libraries, with an even littler selection \u2014 often of worn-out books, and, sometimes, a tinge of mildew \u2014 seem the antithesis of the digital age. And yet, they are thriving.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Some of the boxes, like this one in Greymoss, are part of Little Free Library, a national group. But others around Durham are unaffiliated. Photo by Maddie Wray, The 9th Street Journal.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Some contain more than books. Everything from old magazines to glittery high heels to pieces of garbage have made their way into Durham\u2019s little libraries. A repurposed kitchen cabinet with a living roof at 1402 Vickers Ave. played host to three books and a crushed Celsius energy drink can. The can \u2014 although recyclable \u2014 was not quite in keeping with the spirit of the literature recycling project.<\/span><\/p>\n

Trash is not the only threat that little libraries face. Some in other cities have fallen victim to <\/span>zoning violations<\/span><\/a>, others to the elements, and some have been the subject of skirmishes over which <\/span>officially qualify as \u201cLittle Free Libraries<\/span><\/a>.\u201d But the fundamental betrayal of the \u201ctake a book, return a book\u201d model is likely the most damaging. One of Durham\u2019s little library owners took to Facebook to explain that \u201cevery time I fill my library with books, they\u2019re all cleared out the next day.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Amanda\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n

Donations are the lifeblood of the little library movement, but they can also be a bit of a pain when people, \u201cnot fully understand[ing] the take a book, leave a book kind of thing,\u201d drop \u201cbaskets or boxes of books\u201d at the base of little boxes that couldn\u2019t possibly accommodate them. That\u2019s what Amanda Waldrop, 38, the steward of the brightly colored wooden library on North Willowhaven Drive, experienced.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere were a lot of people who were purging during the pandemic too, so I feel like I got a lot of the purged items and they [were] making it my problem now,\u201d Waldrop says.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The doula and mother of two wasn\u2019t thrilled about adding another task to her to-do list, but the occasional cleanup doesn\u2019t dampen Waldrop\u2019s enthusiasm about her Little Free Library. A 2019 birthday present from her family, it was the perfect addition to her front yard.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Amanda Waldrop says that when books pop up in her Little Free Library, “it\u2019s a nice little reminder from the universe \u2013 oh, this is a book you wanted to read.\u201d Photo by Maddie Wray – The 9th Street Journal<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Killing time while her daughter is at dance class, she is dressed in blue jeans and a white short-sleeve T-shirt that shows off the elegant floral tattoos on each arm. Her eyes widen as she talks about her love of books. Her job, which she also loves, gives her the flexibility to spend time with her kids and to spend most of her day reading.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Little Free Library prods her curiosity too. \u201cIt\u2019s exciting,\u201d she says between sips of green juice, \u201cto see books that I might have on my \u2018to be read\u2019 lists that maybe I forgot about\u201d getting delivered to her library. When they \u201cpop up it\u2019s a nice little reminder from the universe \u2013 oh, this is a book you wanted to read.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But she emphasizes that her little library isn\u2019t about her: It\u2019s about her community. Her front yard is a playdate paradise, complete with a swingset, set back from a sidewalk-less road. At first she worried that people wouldn\u2019t see her little library, but she\u2019s found that neighbors stop by almost daily. She loves when they do \u2014 sometimes even taking a moment to chat with her about the books and the magic of reading.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kat<\/b><\/h2>\n

Kat Barbosa, 33, is neither owner of a little library nor a big reader, but she is a key player in the ad hoc Durham community: She meticulously keeps the color-coded, ZIP code-sorted, master list (a Marauder\u2019s Map) <\/span>of Durham\u2019s little libraries<\/span><\/a>. But she is quick to point out that she is not affiliated with the official \u201cLFL organization.\u201d Her map, which has been posted and reposted in many-a-Facebook group, was not \u201cmade in any \u2018official\u2019 capacity,\u201d she is, in her words \u201cjust a nerd.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But Barbosa, an administrative assistant at an organic grocery broker, isn\u2019t <\/span>just<\/span><\/i> anything. Sure, she\u2019s got the glasses to back-up her nerd assertion, but they are funky, paired with an ever-cool floppy pixie cut and a wide smile.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Kat Barbosa keeps the most comprehensive list of all the little libraries in Durham. Photo by Maddie Wray – The 9th Street Journal<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In a town of book lovers served by the official \u201cLFL organization\u201d as well as plenty of other passionate\u00a0 but unaffiliated library owners, Barbosa realized \u201cthat there was not really a central way to find them all.\u201d In Durham, she estimates that at least half of the little libraries were not on the LFL\u2019s official map, so Barbosa sought to fill this gap.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Barbosa hasn\u2019t gotten around to getting her own little library. She is a relatively new home owner, and her energy has been focused outward, on getting a little library for her daughter\u2019s school. What\u2019s more, when asked if she\u2019s a big reader, Barbosa \u2014 voice lowered as if she\u2019s admitting a guilty pleasure \u2014 responds \u201cyou know\u2026I’m actually not.\u201d She bursts out laughing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI do think that books are really important,\u201d she says, \u201cand I think access to books is really important.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This proclamation seems abstract until her daughter wanders into the kitchen where we are chatting. Barbosa says Eliza, 11 is, \u201ca super avid reader\u201d who\u00a0 is \u201calways acquiring more books.\u201d When Barbosa notices \u201coh, the books are literally falling off [her] shelf,\u201d it\u2019s time for Eliza to pick a few that she doesn\u2019t want anymore. The little libraries are also convenient places to donate \u2014 especially when you know where all of them are.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Karen<\/b><\/p>\n

The mini-fridge in the 800 block of Shepherd Street is not on Barbosa\u2019s map \u2014 yet.<\/span><\/p>\n

The librarian of the mini-fridge is longtime purveyor of books Karen Stinehelfer, 78. Before landing in Durham, Stinehelfer owned the Genealogists Bookshelf, a rare book store on Manhattan\u2019s Upper East Side once heralded by mention in the <\/span>New York Times<\/span><\/a>. Now, instead of selling out-of-print manuscripts, she gives away teen romance novels. A downgrade? Stinehelfer doesn\u2019t think so. It\u2019s not about the press, the ZIP code, the price tag (or lack-there-of), it\u2019s all about the love of books.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Karen Stinehelfer – Photo by Maddie Wray – The 9th Street Journal<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Rocking gently on her pillow-laden patio couch, she gestures toward the converted dorm room appliance and boasts that it \u201cstays watertight through snow, through rain, through everything.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The former bookstore owner has found joy, once again, as a curator of books. When she gave that mini-fridge new life \u2014 TROSA trash turned into literary treasure \u2014 each book was chosen with care. Her approach was simple. \u201cGood books only.\u201d \u201cGood\u201d was everything from a set of American Girl doll books to an anniversary edition of Kerouac\u2019s <\/span>On The Road<\/span><\/i>.\u00a0 \u201cThere wasn\u2019t any garbage at all,\u201d she says, chuckling.<\/span><\/p>\n

And there never will be.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Stinehelfer keeps bins of great reads on her porch, on deck to become the newest editions in the little library. No longer worried about turning a profit, she tends to her little library, curating <\/span>its<\/span><\/i> collection like the book shop owner that she is \u2014 or at least, was.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She relishes the little moments of her little library, such as seeing someone get a book and walk away. \u201cOnce in a while somebody’ll pass my car and they’ll have a book in their hand,\u201d they\u2019ll walk down the street the rest of the way, \u201cwaving it.\u201d She cracks a smile.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Her quote about her bookstore, published in the Times in 1977, still rings true when you\u2019re searching for a book in Durham\u2019s tiny libraries. She told the paper: When people \u201ccan\u2019t find anything it\u2019s not because there\u2019s nothing to find but because they don\u2019t know where to look.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019d suggest starting on Shepherd Street.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Photo at top: Karen Stinehelfer with her mini-fridge-turned-little library. Photo by Maddie Wray – The 9th Street Journal.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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