During the Depression, coal mines in Appalacia were closed, and the families living in areas of Kentucky and West Virginia were extremely poor. Many libraries were closed, and many children did not go to school. The Pack Horse Library consisted of women who stuffed their saddlebags with books, and delivered books to rural areas of Kentucky on a weekly basis. In fact, many people who were illiterate learned to read through this program. Children and adults alike looked forward to new books and magazines every week.
Eleanor Roosevelt wanted to help increase employment in an impoverished area, and the pack horse librarians were paid $28 for their work. They had to supply their own horse, and often had to brave sleet and snow to deliver books.
I had never heard of this program until reading The Giver of Stars, by Jojo Moyes. The book is about the women of the Pack Horse Library Project (a fictionalized version of a real program), and I was so interested in the program, that I had to find out more. Many of the librarians would read to sick people on their route, or read to those that could not read themselves. It gave women, who were in general not treated well by their husbands, a chance to do something worthwhile and feel worthwhile. What a great service this project was to poor, isolated families that otherwise would have no contact with books or magazines. Eleanor Roosevelt helped our country in so many ways. Creating the Pack Horse Library Project as part of the WPA was just one of her many contributions.
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