Contributed by The Bright Lights Book Project
Look out, free books! Yes, that’s what we said. Free books! It’s happening now, including the Festival of Books, coming the 20th of November, 10am to 4pm at Palmer’s Turkey Red!
Have you ever wondered where books go when they’re not passed along like you hope they would be, rejected as a gift, purged after sitting on a shelf for years or they’ve out lived their useful life?
Well, many end up in thrift shops. Their next destination . . . a recycling center or landfill.
Here in the Mat-Su Valley, the Valley Community for Recycling Solutions (VCRS) ends up with tons of books, magazines and catalogs every year. This year it’s estimated to have collected close to 12 tons. What is done with them? They are shredded. Then, packaged by the ton and shipped to the Lower 48 to be recreated into various recycled paper products. Yes, no matter what condition, moldy, dirt encrusted, out of date or pristine, they are shredded!
But wait! There is hope for these orphaned tomes and texts. Enter, Alys Culhane — founder of the Bright Lights Book Project. Alys, an avid reader, writer and an educator, with a MFA in Creative Nonfiction writing and a PHD in Composition and Rhetoric, specializing in the composing process of writers and literacy studies, recognized the injustice inflicted upon these publications. Having observed this phenomenon at the recycling center, Alys got a bright idea — thus, the Bright Lights Book Project (BLBP) was born!
Over the past two years, she’s been combing the VCRS bins gathering and sorting salvageable materials dedicated to inform, educate, entertain and create an overall enjoyment of reading. Along with her husband, Pete Praetorius, and friend Bill Schmidtkunz, they comb the “Gaylords” (large metal containers) every Saturday at the recycling center — sorting books, magazines and pamphlets. Later, they are cleaned and genre sorted, waiting for the next request from a village, school, non-profit organization or business in need. Books have been shipped all over the state. On average, close to 1,000 pounds of materials are saved on a weekly basis. By the end of this year it is estimated 50,000 pounds of hardbacks and paperbacks will have found new homes!
Since the project is locally based, the majority of the books come from VCRS. However, schools, libraries, bookstores, other businesses and organizations, and individuals donate their unwanted books to the cause. The Friends of the Homer Public Library recently donated six boxes of books, all containing first-person accounts of the 1964 earthquake. The first taker was the Tsunami Warning Center.
Along with the books, BLBP supplies the bookcases! You’ll find them around The Valley: the Native Health Center in Sutton, the Sutton Library, the Valley Hotel, Turkey Red, Koslosky Building on all three levels, Sunrise Grill, M-Bar-D in Wasilla and the Mat-Su Borough Building. There’s more! Converted and hand-painted newspaper boxes, donated by The Frontiersman, reside at the Palmer Senior Center, the Sutton Post Office and the Sutton General Store, filled with books. The demand is growing.
For full information on the Bright Lights Book Project, go online to the Mid-February issue of The People’s Paper (makeasceneak.com). You’ll enjoy Alys’ article about the project and her passion for books.
It’s no wonder there is excitement announcing November 20th as a kickoff event, furthering literacy for the community — the 2021 Palmer Festival of Books. Lovers of books from the surrounding community are coming together to share the knowledge, prose, poetry and fun these survivors of landfill and shredder hold. The reading begins at 10am, sharp! You’ll find them in the Turkey Red Banquet Room in the Palmer Plaza. Excerpts from all genres will be recited. And, if you like what you hear, you may have it! Take it home and enjoy. Then, share it with someone else. Christmas craft books and cookbooks will be highlighted. Including goodies to sample and their recipes provided.
Yes, there will be boxes of treasured books for you to mull through and have. Kids books too! A children’s hour will be held from 12pm to 1pm. Our final reading ends at 4pm.
The majority of the Festival of the Book Readers comprise our growing volunteer staff. You may be familiar with some: Mary Ann Cockle, owner of Fireside Booksellers, Bill Schmidtkunz, Hillary Saffran, Pete Praetorious, Alys Culhane, Lois Liebing, Bea Adler, Sheila Aay, Cam Potts and Nan Potts. We think you’ll agree, literacy is imperative. What better than to recycle and recirculate discarded books to people with the love of reading. Our collective goal is to get books into the hands of readers.
The BLBP is looking for businesses, organizations and individuals who wish to support this “circulation” of books and magazines by requesting and providing a space for a bookcase (“A space for a case”) — we supply the books and maintain the shelves to keep the flow in motion.
What a great event to include in your Holiday celebrations and shopping! Come join in the fun and you’ll catch an ear-full, or more!
