Remote Access: Small Public Libraries in Arkansas

2022 Arkansas Selection, The Library of Congress, Center for the Book’s Great Read from Great Places Program

2021 Arkansas Gem, Arkansas State Library

With their cameras and notebooks in hand, photographers Sabine Schmidt and Don House embarked on an ambitious project to document the libraries committed to serving Arkansas’s smallest communities. Remote Access is the culmination of this fascinating three-year effort, which took the artists to every region of their home state.

Through this testament to the essential role of libraries in the twenty-first century, Schmidt and House have created a clear-eyed portrait of contemporary rural life, delving into issues of race, politics, gender, and isolation as they document the remarkable hard work and generosity put forth in community efforts to sustain local libraries.

Remote Access is the second Schmidt and House collaboration. Inspired by a love of libraries and the role public libraries play in their communities, they selected 21 of the smallest of the 235 public libraries in Arkansas for the project. The resulting collection of photographs and essays was published by the University of Arkansas Press in December 2021.

Praise for Remote Access:

“What a wonderful, lovely book this is: a much-needed celebration of rural libraries, librarians, and readers.” Keith Carter, Photographer

“Remote Access was a delight to read. There were times when I smiled, when I shed a tear, and when I thought, ‘Yes, they got it.’ The rich story of public libraries and their value to a community.” Carolyn Ashcraft, former Arkansas State Librarian

About the Book:

“All public libraries serve similar roles in their communities that go far beyond providing reading material. Those roles and services often don’t end up in mission statements, but they are critical in the lives of the patrons,” says Sabine Schmidt. “Small libraries in particular offer a safe, warm space with critical internet access, a research center, a home away from home. Often the librarian acts as researcher, grant writer, vocational counselor, cook, family relationship coach, child welfare monitor, community organizer, tutor, visitor information officer, living bulletin board, a friendly face, and a patient listener.”

Sabine Schmidt, whose work often deals with ideas of place and home, concentrates on the physical community–the architecture, buildings, streets, businesses, schools, churches, and of course the library itself. “There is obvious beauty in the buildings and facilities of large urban libraries, and that has been documented in several collections of photographs over the years, but I find great beauty in the small rural library that has to make do with limited resources. Sometimes the library is housed in a building that was never intended for the purpose. Space restrictions can seem daunting. Often the library relies heavily on volunteers, with a librarian only funded with a part-time salary. The beauty that comes from labors of love is exactly what drives so many smaller libraries. It is tangible, palpable, and photographable.”

Don House is foremost a portrait photographer, and his interest is in the people who come to the library, who use the space and the services. He will set up his backdrop and lights and photograph anyone who uses the library (and is willing) during normal business hours. According to House, the process is quick and casual: “I’m interested in the people, their personality, what they’re wearing, what they’re carrying, why they are there. There is no posing, no preconceived notion. When I’m done, if I’ve been successful, I have opened a window on the community and the people who make it what it is.”

As a thank-you for their participation, all library patrons photographed received a complimentary silver-gelatin print of their photograph.

Buy the Book:

To order signed, personalized copies of the books or prints of any image in the books directly from the authors, click here.

Remote Access: Small Public Libraries in Arkansas is available from the University of Arkansas Press, at many bookstores, and through the usual online book retailers.

All images and content on this site are the property of Sabine Schmidt and Don House and may not be used or reproduced without permission from Schmidt and House.

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