Book Talk with Authors Don House and Sabine Schmidt

The St. Paul Public Library is featured in a new book by Arkansas photographers and writers Sabine Schmidt and Don House. Remote Access: Small Public Libraries in Arkansas was published by the University of Arkansas Press. St. Paul is one of 21 libraries from across the state that are highlighted in the book. The authors will be at the St. Paul library on Thursday, December 1, at 4 p.m. to show photographs, read from the book, and speak about their experiences in the communities they visited. Books will be for sale. The presentation is open to the public, and all are welcome. Refreshments will be served.

Schmidt and House collaborated on this three-year project to celebrate Arkansas libraries, librarians, and the critical and changing roles they play in small communities. Schmidt focused her attention on the community and the landscape, photographing with traditional color film, while House, in black-and-white, concentrated on the people who use the library services and the staff who make those services possible. While Schmidt wandered the community and the countryside, House set up his portable portrait studio in the library and photographed every person who walked in on that particular day.