The Bright Lights Book Project: The Time/Space Continuum
Contributed by Alys Culhane
The former banquet room of the Historic Eagle Hotel has, in the past year, been on a growth spurt, one that complements its core purpose, which is, “To envision literacy to change lives by making books accessible to appreciative readers of all ages.” This is reflective in our use of available hotel space.
Last summer the BLBP partnered with the Alaska Literacy Program, which is located in Anchorage. Since 1974, nonprofit staff and volunteers have taught adults to read, write, and speak English. ALP provides pathways to employment, professional training, and post-secondary education; they also help their ESL clients access healthcare, become citizens, and navigate their new home country.
ALP recruits, trains, certifies, and supports volunteer teachers who work hand-in-hand with staff to help these English Language Learners reach their educational goals. ALP is now also has a presence in the Mat-Su Valley.
ALP works with adults and the BLBP works with children.
ALP decided to share space which the BLBP previously used for book storage and shelving. They subsequently turned it into a practical and welcoming work area.
The ALP/BLPB quasi-merger has become a partnership that we all hope that other nonprofits will emulate. I presumed that when we teamed up that ALP would occupy the former banquet room space in the mornings and that the BLBP would occupy this space in the afternoons. We would subsequently just go about our business. The ALP and the BLBP now share space, staff, and information. For example, ALP Computer Specialist Lawrence Giron is now the BLBP Volunteer Coordinator. We also are referring new volunteers to one another’s organizations. A mutual love of books has further solidified our partnership.
We have also turned a former hotel supply closet into what I am now calling the BLBP Literacy Annex. It houses vintage children’s books, eBay books, and books that have been set aside for our village and overseas programs. (In the past year we’ve sent books to Kenya, the Philippines, India, and Belize). It also contains books that we use in our Storytime sessions.
Talk about expansion – there are now two bookcases and a drop box located in the hotel lobby, which our bookcase guardian angels now stock twice a day.
There’s yet another BLBP expansion effort on the horizon. BLBP Artist-in-Residence Cathy Stone and I are calling it the Bright Lights Book Project Gallery. Cathy and I met three years previously at the Palmer Senior Center. We discovered that we had many commonalities, one of which is a love of children’s book illustrations. The BLBP had an abundance of vintage books that had torn, moldy, and well-worn pages. The Big Foot Art Gallery/Pia’s Custom Framing gave us innumerable pieces of odd-sized matt board upon which we have mounted the pristine vintage illustrations.
A question surfaced a few weeks ago, as Cathy and I looked at boxes of her artwork, some of which included greeting cards, placards, and frameable art. We came up with the following idea in one of our late afternoon brainstorming sessions. We (with permission from the hotel owners) have decided to set up a gallery exhibit on the Eagle Hotel lobby wall. We’ll also include a sign saying that artwork and cards are available by donation inside the former banquet room.
I do not know what the future holds space-wise for the BLBP. I continue to envision a larger venue, which is a building that will enable the BLBP and the ALP to hold events, conferences, and classes. In addition, it will also contain rental space, which the BLBP will use to house partners. And it goes without saying that it will have room for the thousands of books that we will undoubtedly store and process. For now, as hotel space becomes available, we’ll put it to use in ways that complement our core purpose.
Alys Culhane is both the Executive Director of the Bright Lights Book Project and an ideas person. She spent the first season’s windstorm in the Eagle Hotel, where it was warm, and watched the hotel dumpster blow across the parking lot. She is considering writing a children’s book about this from the perspective of the hotel ravens, who temporarily lost sight of their primary food source.