If I said this before, please excuse me. Sometimes thoughts go in a huge circle, a circle so large that I do not remember the original thought. This is one of those instances.

I may have said previously that I could not let go of the fact that books were being shredded at the local recycling center. So I began sorting them, and doing some categorizing. There were so many books that this became a Sisyphean task. I had no idea what to do with the books. And, neither did the VCRS recycling center staff. I knew that I had to find an audience for the books.

I do understand that the recycling center staff had a way of dealing with books, and this was to shred them and sell the mixed paper. I did get their bookstore going – this, on top of continual sorting, was very time consuming.

I went on a vacation and rode my bicycle from Fairbanks to Valdez. When I got back, I was told by the then executive director not to come back.

Science of Reading Symposium

Bill, who was well liked, kept sorting. And we began getting bookcases up around town and stocking them. I also began making calls and found takers for the books.

So this was the biggest obstacle, finding appreciative readers for the books. I led the way, but others soon began supporting this effort. This takes me back to the visionary thing. Others saw that getting books into the hands of appreciative readers was really important and began giving me an assist.

Pete became a co-conspirator. He grew up in a family where books were valued and had teachers who thought the same. So it was inconceivable to him that the recycling center would continue to shred books. We got a BLBP board together and applied for and got nonprofit status. We also got a much needed boost from the Mat Su Health Foundation, who provided us with our first grant.

So home front and community support has provided us with much needed momentum. Today I realized, perhaps for a second time, that a person can have a vision. But in order for this vision to be carried out, you have to have backing.

And we have backing. I met Sacha Pettit, a Colony Middle School teacher, at the Science of Reading Symposium. About a month or so ago, I went and talked with the students in her leadership class about our project. I had hoped that they might clean books but getting books there and back seemed to me to be a logistical problem. So I proposed to Sacha that we instead focus on book restoration. I had students determine which books were worth restoring last week. Today, Audrey, a Mat Su College librarian, came and went over particulars about book restoration.

It is slow, exacting, and detail oriented work. I thought, there is no way in which we can restore all the books out there. But the few books we restore, they won’t be shredded. And the kids ended up closely looking carefully at a handful of books. So, Sacha and Audrey, they are two of many who are now invested in this project.

Then this afternoon I met with Michele Parkhurst, who co-owns Kaladi Brothers Coffee. She took books with her back to Anchorage, one box for a group of individuals who are working with kids who have grief related issues. She also took books that she’ll put in the Kaladi Brothers bookcases. And so, Michele is now invested in this project.

Next: 344. 12/16/23: Now or Never