‘Library’ door is always unlocked
Posted on Monday, June 2, 2008
LAFE — The books in Shirley Emery’s storage building rest on wooden shelves and share space with a rack of clothes, a portable refrigerator and a Cub Cadet riding lawnmower.
But this library of sorts in the Greene County town of 380 has dedicated patrons who trade books with her. The books are free — readers can get two books from Emery if they donate one book in return.
If someone doesn’t have a book to swap, she’ll let him “check out” the book. But she doesn’t keep records of the books loaned out.
“They’ll bring them back when they are finished,” she said.
The library is a symbol of Emery’s willingness to give back to the small town where she’s lived for 65 years. And now, as she prepares to battle cancer, her Eagle Street library has taken on more importance for her.
Emery will undergo surgery in Jonesboro this week to remove a malignancy in her mouth.
“The closest library is in Paragould,” she said. “That’s 10 miles away. The cost of gas will keep some people from going there.
“ I want people to enjoy reading,” she said. “I want to help them enjoy it. They’ve helped me.”
While there are numerous used-book stores that offer tradein deals across the state, this is the only one not geared toward making any money, said the president of the Arkansas Library Association.
“I think it’s a great thing she’s doing to get more people to read,” Deborah Hall said of Emery.
The more than 200 libraries in the state are based in more populated areas, she said.
“Some smaller towns have [branch library ] buildings that are open two or three days a week,” Hall said. “But the real rural areas don’t have any.”
Emery began collecting books after her divorce in 1995. She now has more than 1, 000 books.
“I had time to read then,” she said of the days after her divorce. “I never had time before. But I was by myself, and I started reading.”
She enjoys reading Janet Evanovich and Carly Phillips, two romance authors, although Evanovich has branched out and has written a best-selling comedic mystery series. Emery used to devour Danielle Steele’s books, but lately she’s cooled off on that romance writer.
“Danielle’s books aren’t as good now,” Emery said. “She’s letting me down.”
Earlier this spring, Emery found a container in a metal shed behind her house full of books. Termites also found the books and destroyed most of them. Many were westerns, a popular choice for her patrons now.
She decided she needed a better place to display the books.
Her new husband, Carl Emery, bought a large 30-foot-long wooden storage building and placed it next to their driveway. He hopes to add more shelves and move out some of the clutter inside, he said.
“I think this is a good idea,” he said. “A lot of people out here like to read.
“ I’ve been reading mysteries. But no romances.”
The library opened about a month ago. People have come from Marmaduke, Paragould and Rector to visit.
“I’ve tried to shelve the books in some order so people can find them,” she said. “If they want mysteries, I show them where they’re at, and they go from there.”
Jim Butts, a retired Swifton police officer who moved across Eagle Street from the Emerys six months ago, has visited the library.
“They say fences make good neighbors, but there’s not a fence between us,” Butts said. “She’s doing this out of the goodness of her heart. She’s a very giving person, and there’s not enough giving in this world.”
Butts has asked Emery to find science-fiction novels. In exchange, he plans to swap a large paperback collection of Louis L’Amour western novels.
“I’ve got to read them first,” he said.
A few weeks ago, Butts loaded a bundle of books in a red Radio Flyer wagon and toted them across the street to Emery.
“She’s helping get kids off of television and into reading,” Butts said. “It’s educational, no matter what they read.”
Emery eventually wants to install an air conditioning and heating unit and a door to her library.
Now, readers enter through a roll-down garage door that remains open all the time.
“It ain’t ever locked,” she said. “People can come whenever they want to. If someone wants books enough to break in, more power to them. They can have them anyway.”
She intends to leave the door unlocked when she’s away for her surgery, too.
Emery will be in the hospital for at least a week after her surgery, she said. The operation will cause her tongue to swell, and she’ll be placed on a feeding tube and a ventilator. It’s a serious procedure, said Carl Emery, who was a nurse before retiring.
“I’ve got problems,” Shirley Emery said. “As soon as I straighten them out at the hospital, I’ll be back here.”
She also has plans for her books in case her surgery is not successful. She’ll have someone sell all the books and donate the money to charity.
“I guess I have an ‘easy come, easy go’ attitude,” she said. “I’ll do what I can to help others.”
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