The Book Women of Appalachia. Cumberland Gap National Historical Park.

In the midst of the worst economic disaster in US History, hope was being carried through the rural communities tucked amongst the rugged mountains of eastern Kentucky. The Pack Horse Library Project sent women on horseback through the most remote regions of the Cumberland Mountains to deliver reading materials to isolated homes and communities. The project gave hundreds of women their first taste of independence and purpose, and provided thousands of Appalachians their first glimpses into the world beyond Kentucky through the pages of books.

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Sources

Book: Down Cut Shin Creek, The Pack Horse Librarians of Kentucky by Kathi Appelt and Jeanna Cannella Schmitzer

Documentary: The Pack Horse Librarians of Appalachia (PBS)

Articles: History, Living New Deal, Digital Public Library of America, Smithsonian Magazine, American Library Association, VCU Libraries Social Welfare History Project, History (2), National Park History