Retired Wauwatosa Librarian Keeping Written Word Alive
1:37
Jesse Ritka reports
Tags: syndicate WTMJ-TV local news 6p News
Added: 2 years ago
From: todaystmj4
Views: 20
[scene opens with two news anchors speaking directly to the camera]
CAROLE MEEKINS: In the digital age, books are being replaced with tablets.
MIKE JACOBS: But a retired librarian is going old school. Jesse Ritka reports from Wauwatosa.
[cut to a female reporter ("Jesse Ritka, in Wauwatosa") standing in front of a house, speaking directly to the camera]
JESSE RITKA: After forty years of being a librarian, Marlene Heard wanted to continue to share her love for books ...
[she walks up to what appears to be a big wooden mailbox in front of the home, but opens it to reveal a pile of books inside]
JESSE RITKA: So she started her own little library.
[cut to an elderly woman (shirt white hair, blue vest, white undershirt) speaking directly to the camera]
MARLENE HEARD: I have to be with a library.
[cut to another shot of the box in front of the librarian's home (with "Free Library, Take 1 Share 1" written on the outside)]
JESSE RITKA: [in voice over] So when Marlene found out about the Little Library movement ...
[cut to a milk crate on the ground, filled with books]
JESSE RITKA: [in voice over] By reading, of course, she knew instantly she had to be a part of it.
[cut back to the librarian ("Marlene Heard, Retired Librarian") speaking directly to the camera]
MARLENE HEARD: I called my son, and I said, "Hey, you can cover a whole bunch'a holidays, I want this!" And so he got it, and then made it up right away.
[cut to an exterior shot of her house]
JESSE RITKA: [in voice over] It's only been up for a few weeks, but Marlene says books are flying off her shelf.
[cut back to the librarian speaking directly to the camera]
MARLENE HEARD: I just looked this morning, and there are very few in there.
[cut to another shot of the box]
JESSE RITKA: [in voice over] But thanks to the "take one, leave one" suggestion, books are not only returned but the collection grows.
[cut to another shot of the milk crate on the ground next to the box]
JESSE RITKA: [in voice over] She even had to add two extra book boxes.
[cut to another exterior shot of her house]
MARLENE HEARD: [in voice over] Just to see people take books, bring them back ... Bring back three or four, and they only took out one!
[cut back to the librarian speaking directly to the camera]
MARLENE HEARD: And they get 'em from neighbors! And I mean, this is just ... to me, I just love it! Uh, i-it's fun!
[cut to several still images of other "Little Free Libraries" around the country]
JESSE RITKA: [in voice over] The movement started in Hudson, Wisconsin, and is spreading across the nation.
MARLENE HEARD: [in voice over] Keep pushing the reading!
[cut to a map of Wisconsin]
JESSE RITKA: [in voice over] Southeast Wisconsin now has eleven Little Free Libraries, but thanks to her librarian experience, visitors get more than a book when they open Marlene's book bins.
[cut back to the librarian speaking directly to the camera]
MARLENE HEARD: Sometimes hold up the book ...
[she pantomimes holding up a book, then shakes her head]
MARLENE HEARD: And I'll say no! And then I'll yell at 'em, at a new one that I've just read!
[cut to a pile of books]
MARLENE HEARD: [in voice over] I just want them to read ...
[cut back to the librarian speaking directly to the camera]
MARLENE HEARD: I want them to enjoy the books that I do.
[cut back to the reporter speaking directly to the camera]
JESSE RITKA: Marlene says that her little library has already inspired others to start their own. On your side in Wauwatosa, Jesse Ritka, today's TMJ4.
---
From jrn.com:
Retired librarian keeps the written word alive
By Jesse Ritka. CREATED May 8, 2012 - UPDATED: May 8, 2012
WAUWATOSA - After 40 years of being a librarian, Marlene Heard wanted to continue to share her passion for books, so she started her own little library.
Marlene tells TODAY'S TMJ4's Jesse Ritka she can't live without books, "I have to be with a library, I just have to be."
So when Marlene found out about the Little Free Library movement, by reading of course, she knew instantly she had to be a part of it. "I called my son and said hey, you can cover a whole bunch of holidays; I want this. So he got it and made it up right away," she explains.
The retired librarian's little library can be found just off Menomonee River Parkway, and it has only been up for a few weeks, but Marlene's already noticed books flying off her shelf. "I just looked this morning and there are very few in there!" Heard exclaims.
But thanks to the painted "Take one, leave one?" instructions, books are not only returned, but the collection grows. Marlene even had to add two extra book bins, "Just to see people take books, bring them back, bring back 3, 4 and they only took out one and they get them from neighbors, this is just... to me, I just love it, it's fun!"
The Little Free Library movement began in Hudson, Wisconsin and is spreading across the nation. Southeast Wisconsin now has 11 little free libraries, but thanks to her librarian experience, visitors get more than a book when browsing through Marlene's mini collection. "Sometimes they'll hold up the book and I'll say no and then I'll yell at them at a new one that I've just read. I just want them to read, I want them to enjoy the books that I do," says Heard.
Following the expanding trend, Marlene says that her little library has already inspired others to start their own locally.
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