We moved to the isolated, yet awesome mountain community of Grandview Peaks in Dysartsville three years ago. As a public-school librarian with a passion for reading and a dislike of TV, I knew immediately that I needed to create a community “Grand Little Library.” This was established to bring books to my neighbors and instill a sense of community involvement and belonging.

The Mountain Express newspaper in Asheville graciously donated an old newspaper dispensary for me to reclaim, revamp and reuse into our own little neighborhood library! I sanded down its original run-down ugliness and spray painted it an awesome aqua (my favorite color), and divided it into Kids/Adult sections. I get constant donations from neighbors of awesome hardback books to keep it vibrant and fluid, and I love all the positive comments from neighbor/friends that use it regularly!