- Stotts, Stuart. (2006-2007) "A thousand little libraries: Lutie Stearns, the Johnny Appleseed of Books." Wisconsin Magazine of History, 90 (2), 38-49.
- A "Dig Deeper" article from Contemporary Libraries
- Accessible online at http://bit.ly/2muxhmA
I live in the Fort Wayne area. Of course I clicked on article with "Johnny Appleseed" in the title.
I admire Lutie Stearns' work ethic and commitment to her ideals. In her time with the Wisconsin Free Library Commission, she "had helped to establish over 150 free libraries, 1,400 traveling libraries, and 14 county library systems." She was also a member of the ALA, and an accomplished public speaker despite her stutter. I liked that the beginning of her career as a librarian happened because she was a teacher bringing her students to check out book, trying to make up for inadequate school library. She was very committed to getting books into the hands of children, which wasn't a popular idea at the time because it was thought kids would be destructive. From excerpts of letters included, it seems like communities really took pride and ownership in their little libraries. It was good to read this historical example of the library's purpose of self-education, and to find inspiration in such a woman as Lutie Stearns.
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