Books in a Box: Lutie Stearns and the Traveling Libraries of Wisconsin

Registered by wingKateKintailwing of Burke, Virginia USA on 8/14/2016
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3 journalers for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by wingKateKintailwing from Burke, Virginia USA on Sunday, August 14, 2016
Bought this at a library used book sale. This book caught my eye, as a lover of books. It's signed by the author. I believe this story of little boxes of libraries in Wisconsin is what inspired the current Little Free Library movement.

This is a biography of Lutie Stearns, a woman who worked hard so that everyone, including the poor, could have access to books for free. But, more than that, this book is a biography of the libraries. They were boxes that lived in people's homes or stores or other public buildings. Every so often, the contents of these boxes were swapped out, so that the collections would be fresh. These boxes had rules and sign-out slips. They were numbered so that records could be kept. And today we even know some of the popular titles that were in these libraries--some are books we still read over a hundred years later like Alice in Wonderland and Sherlock Holmes. Some books were in different languages, because the country had many immigrants from various countries. And some books were damaged, but the borrowers were asked to pay to replace these.

Lutie fought for many things--the right for everyone to read, for free libraries around the country, and also for women's rights. She was a strong, progressive woman who made a difference in her state and in the country. But the difference her books make in hundreds of thousands of lives is what's really at the core of this wonderful book.

I will not soon forget Lutie Stearns the next time I visit a library. And I'll definitely think of her boxes of books whenever I visit a Little Free Library or receive a bookbox in the mail.

Journal Entry 2 by wingKateKintailwing at Silver Spring, Maryland USA on Sunday, August 14, 2016

Released 7 yrs ago (8/14/2016 UTC) at Silver Spring, Maryland USA

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Taking this to a BCinDC meetup.

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Journal Entry 3 by wing6of8wing at Silver Spring, Maryland USA on Sunday, August 14, 2016
KateKintail asked me if this would work for the Biographies of Things book box. Certainly it belongs in a book box of some sort, just by virtue of the title. Since the subject matter seems related and involves the inspiration for the Little Free Library movement, of which MaryZee was a huge fan, I feel certain that she would approve.

Journal Entry 4 by wing6of8wing at -- Mail or by hand-rings, RABCK, meetings, Maryland USA on Friday, January 20, 2017

Released 7 yrs ago (1/20/2017 UTC) at -- Mail or by hand-rings, RABCK, meetings, Maryland USA

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

This book is in the Biography of Things BookBox and is off to travel the country.

Any future reader or recipient of this book is encouraged to leave a journal entry here on the BookCrossing site to let prior readers know the fate of the book. You can make an anonymous entry without joining the BookCrossing movement, but if you are interested in joining, it is a free and spam-free community where your contact information is not shared with others. Best of all, members receive private messages via e-mail from books like this one when those books are journaled, allowing for long-term relationships between books and readers.

Journal Entry 5 by wingelizardbreathwing at Bella Vista, Arkansas USA on Sunday, January 29, 2017
I chose this from the box.

Journal Entry 6 by wingelizardbreathwing at Bella Vista, Arkansas USA on Thursday, March 30, 2017
I liked the story just fine but there wasn't anything in it that couldn't be deduced from a quick online search. The author took simple, available facts and wrote a very short and generic story around them to tell about Ms. Stearns' life and contribution to the development of libraries in America. There was nothing super profound about the actual telling of this story but the sacrifice Ms. Stearns made to get books into peoples' hands was amazing. I also thought the photos were fun and I always love a good biography.

I'm planning to release this in a local Little Free Library.

Journal Entry 7 by wingelizardbreathwing at Pendleton Book Company in Pendleton, Oregon USA on Saturday, April 29, 2017

Released 6 yrs ago (5/10/2017 UTC) at Pendleton Book Company in Pendleton, Oregon USA

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

I'm planning to release this in Oregon this spring when I go to visit.

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