Library 143: Wells Village Library
Rural dandyism
Library 143! The Wells Village Library was the 143rd stop on my quest to read, write, and knit in every public library in Vermont.
I read: student work
I wrote: feedback on student work
I knit: a classic ribbed hat
When I stepped foot inside this building, the first words that came to mind were rural dandyism. This word— dandyism— was circulating the week of my visit due to the celebration of Black dandyism at the 2025 MET Gala. The gala was queer and artful and excellent. Dandy. This library was giving dandyism for me because of the fresh flowers, the just-so placement of every single item, the ragtime music playing in the background, the open door, the breeze, and the librarian’s handwriting (dreamy). It was giving intentional anachronism.
I sat to knit in this one-room library and joined in a conversation between two patrons and the librarian. On their way out, their last words to the librarian were “I love you.” I thought this was curious and asked the librarian if they were family. She said “No, that’s just part of our local culture.”
Reason I love libraries number 38374833.
Soon after they left, a third patron came in and informed me that I was sitting in his chair. Once all things were made right, we chatted. About half way through the visit he looked at me and thoughtfully said: “Have you ever been in a situation when you really needed a stapler but didn’t have one?”
I thought about this question. The answer was “yes” and I recall that was indeed an unpleasant situation. Before I could voice my thinking on the matter, he reached into his coat pocket and whipped out a pocket-sized stapler. “This is the best size,” he said, and stapled a stack of papers on his lap. I chuckled and asked if I could take a picture. He agreed.
The librarian told me about a program called Libraries Love Lakes, which was new to me. This organization pairs school and public libraries with lake scientists to help students/patrons learn about lake ecology and conservation. They curate book lists and offer activity guides. I appreciate the intentional partnership of libraries + lakes. How niche and specific.
On Monday 5/19/25 I had the pleasure of speaking about my quest to visit every library in Vermont at the Vermont Library Association conference for their lunch keynote. When I received the invitation, I cried a bit at the thought of spending a day with 300 librarians in one place. This project has been so enriching my life, mainly because of them, and I was excited to share a few stories of library moments. I told the stapler story. The conference vibes were family, kindness, solidarity, humor, resistance. Knowledge is powerful. Community is powerful.
At the end of that amazing day in Killington, I had the urge to tell the librarians “I love you” on the way out. It just seemed like part of their local culture.
Always a treat to read about your visits!
141 and 143 showed for me together, and I had a feeling a little like when you get a number at a restaurant and the serve the number before you and the number after you and you are sitting there hungry wondering where yours is. And then I found 142 and realized I had already read about the pugs and even sent it to a friend who has pugs.