Packhorse Librarian: A Card and a Cause

In the thick of the Great Depression, when coal was scarce and hope even scarcer, a quiet revolution rode out from the hollers.

They were women—many of them mothers, teachers, widows—armed not with rifles but with saddlebags full of books. They crossed flooded creeks and scaled Appalachian ridgelines on horseback or mule, delivering words and wonder to families tucked deep in the mountains. These were the Pack Horse Librarians—and this card in The Appalachian Spirit Deck honors their legacy.

Formed in 1935 under the Works Progress Administration (WPA), the Pack Horse Librarian Project aimed to do two things at once: provide jobs for women and increase literacy in some of the most isolated parts of Appalachia. These librarians traveled over 100 miles a week through rugged terrain, distributing books, magazines, and newspapers to families who had no access to libraries. They were more than couriers—they were caretakers of the imagination.

They read aloud to elders who could no longer see. They encouraged children to keep trying. They returned week after week, building trust and planting seeds of learning that would grow long after the programs shut down.

They weren’t just delivering books.
They were delivering connection.

Carrying the Torch Today: Jonathan Beatty and the Bookman Legacy

The spirit of the Pack Horse Librarians didn’t end with the WPA. In fact, it found a modern echo in the work of Jonathan Beatty—known to many children across Kentucky as the “Chief Bookman.”

Born in Hazard, KY and rooted in a deep love of both Appalachian culture and childhood literacy, Jonathan launched ILOVEBOOKS.org as a grassroots movement to get books into the hands of kids who needed them most. Through a social enterprise model not unlike TOMS shoes, every piece of merch sold helped fund books for children in underserved communities. Schools. Libraries. Families. Wherever the need was, the Bookman found a way.

That same mission now lives on through his ongoing work with Reading is Fundamental (RIF.org)—the nation’s largest nonprofit for children’s literacy. What began as a local love letter to storytelling has now expanded into a national effort to close the literacy gap for good.

A Living Legacy

If you came here looking for ILOVEBOOKS.org, you’re not lost—you’re just turning the page.
Jonathan’s work now flows through RIF.org, and the mission is stronger than ever.

We honor him here not only for what he’s built—but for the spirit he embodies: a modern-day Pack Horse Librarian, still finding ways to put books into the hands of the next generation.

📚 → Visit RIF.org to learn more, donate, or get involved.

Want to Know More?

Watch the PBS documentary embedded on this page to learn more about the original Pack Horse Librarians—their grit, their grace, and the road they cleared for those who carry the torch today.

Because sometimes, the most radical thing you can deliver… is a story.