SOUTH DEERFIELD — Morning sunlight warmed Thursday’s chilly air as retired Elementary School Librarian Bette Schmitt placed Halloween-themed children’s books into her “Little Free Library” on Sugarloaf Street.
“I just love children’s literature. And I want to share some of my collection,” Schmitt said, closing the small glass doors. “A lot of kids don’t have access to books at home.”
After 38 years in education — eight as a teacher, 30 as the school’s librarian — Schmitt retired last year. But she couldn’t step away from librarian duties altogether. Inspired by a friend, Schmitt recently put finishing touches on a small, free, community library featuring mostly children’s books — kept safe in a small box with two doors and a slanted shingle roof.
Anyone can stop by and take a book or leave one behind. Nearby, a sign reads “take a book, leave a book, share and enjoy!”
Lower Road artist Karen Savage, a friend of more than 40 years, painted artwork on the box’s side. Landscaping around it, including a stone walkway leading to the sidewalk, was done by Gary Gauthier of Southampton.
“Hopefully, I made it low enough so kids can come,” Schmitt said. “I try to check it almost every day. I do keep some adult books in there.”
Free book exchanges became mainstream around 2009. A year later, Little Free Library, a nonprofit organization, was established to promote free community libraries.
Schmitt’s love for literature is evident, and her personal collection is impressive. Inside her Sugarloaf Street home, illustrations hang on walls and book stacks cover open floor space, fill closets and weigh down shelves in a shed out back that’s been converted into a reading room.
“I still keep buying (books). It’s a disease, but it’s a great disease,” Schmitt joked.
Both of Schmitt’s parents were teachers, and, now, so are her three children. And she herself taught in New Jersey during the 1960s. In the 1970s, after her husband, Robert Schmitt, completed veterinarian school, they moved to Sugarloaf Street and opened South Deerfield Veterinary Clinic on Routes 5 and 10.
When their children grew a little older, Bette Schmitt began walking students from the Pleasant Street school to Tilton Library because the old elementary school didn’t have its own book collection. When another was built in 1992 featuring a library room, Schmitt became an in-house librarian and stayed there until last year.
“The children — reading to kids, I miss it so much. Three classes came every week and I read every class,” Schmitt said. “I had the best job anyone could ever have.”
Over the years, Schmitt became known by students for sharing stories of travel using items from different countries. Authors and illustrators including Jerry Pinkney, who wrote “The Ugly Duckling,” spoke to students at Schmitt’s invitation.
Earlier this year, a committee led by Amy Battisti was formed to honor Schmitt’s service to the community. The school hosted a special retirement ceremony and renamed the Elementary School’s library “Schmitt Library.”
“They took the paper off and it said ‘Schmitt Library.’ Unbelievable. My son came — he’s a teacher — and he said, ‘Mom, I didn’t know how much the kids love you.’ And I said, ‘I love them!’” Schmitt said.
These days, Schmitt still loves children’s books and appreciates their influence on young minds. And she hopes the Little Free Library — stocked from her personal collection — will make those resources more accessible.
“There has to be that one element that either changes your opinion, or reinforces something you believe. Something good you can take from it,” Schmitt said. “Those are the special books you keep turning to.”
Books relate history, Schmitt said, and can also explain important and controversial subjects with simplicity. “That’s the miracle of children’s books,” she said. For example, author E.B. Lewis tackles concepts of race in his books, others write about the environment, or bullying.
As technology becomes more prevalent, Schmitt said it’s important not to forego children’s books for those reasons.
“I have been so fortunate to have been in a profession like this, that hopefully will change the world a little bit. (Books) are the treasures of my life. Kind of what I am,” Schmitt said.
A few books that’ve inspired her over the years include adult fiction titles “To Kill A Mockingbird,” by Harper Lee, and the self-help book “Power of Positive Thinking,” by Norman Vincent Peale. Schmitt’s favorite children’s books include “One Morning in Maine” by Robert McCloskey, “Miss Rumphius” by Barbara Cooney, “The Other Side” by Jacqueline Woodson, illustrated by E.B. Lewis; and “The Old Woman Who Named Things,” by Cynthia Rylant, illustrated by Kathryn Brown.
You can reach Andy Castillo
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