Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, March 2, 1993 TAG: 9303020009
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Ed Shamy
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
BOOKS DON'T WAIT LONG AT STATION
The first time Alan Brittle showed up at Campbell Court with a load of books, he was caught off guard by the reaction from the people waiting for buses."I had people swarming me like bees to honeysuckle," said Brittle. "They were taking books out of the boxes before I could get them up on the rack."
That was late September. Literacy Volunteers of America's Roanoke Valley chapter, of which Brittle is executive director, figured it had a three-month supply of books to give away.
"I went to fill the rack every other day," said Brittle. "We ran out in three weeks."
The idea was - still is - to distribute free books from a circular book rack inside the city's central bus station.
It has been successful beyond anyone's expectations. Dozens of books disappear weekly, proving once again that a lot of people will do a lot of things if they're free and accessible.
"I've put up everything up there from Dennis the Menace to `Atlas Shrugged,'" said Brittle. "Hank Ketchum to Ayn Rand. They're into everything. It makes you think we're not in such bad shape, after all."
When the literacy volunteers ran low on books, the city library filled the gap.
Suzanne Morgan, a librarian in the Roanoke Law Library, takes a box of books from the main library every Wednesday afternoon and stocks it with 84 new paperbacks.
This week, there are lots of dime-store type romances - the kind with cover art of women busting out of their brassieres, swooning into the arms of swarthy men.
But, Morgan says, she's also stocked Shakespeare, books in French and Spanish, dictionaries and children's books. It all disappears, usually within a couple of days, though the romances have moved slowly. Only about half of this week's supply had been claimed by Monday.
Last week's sample included a copy of Reader's Digest, a romance novel, a horror story and a how-to book on dealing with adult children who move back in with their parents.
Most of the books come from the city's library, though the county is also a contributor, as is Paperback Exchange - a local used-book dealer.
Morgan is philosophical about what happens to the books after they leave Campbell Court. Sure, it'd be nice to belive that every word on every page is being read and absorbed.
But she's realistic enough to think that some of the books may not be getting read. Some may end up fueling the woodstove on cold nights.
"Even that," says Morgan, "is better than the landfill. And that's where they would have gone."
Bibliophiles have a hard time throwing out even the most wretched, rundown book. No matter how bad the binding, or how dated the message, every book is a book worth saving.
That's why many of our homes are firetraps.
With no attention and virtually no overhead, the library and the literacy volunteers have developed a wondrous, if simple, service.
You can help. Tote a few of your paperbacks to Campbell Court next time you walk past. Slip them onto the rack. Take one if you like.
Think of it as giving your book a second lease on life.