Chap­ter 5 delves into the increas­ing demand for books and read­ing mate­r­i­al in the remote moun­tain vil­lages of Lee Coun­ty, Ken­tucky, high­light­ing the grow­ing suc­cess of the Pack­horse Library. Nes­tled in the rugged Appalachi­an land­scape, these com­mu­ni­ties, once iso­lat­ed from edu­ca­tion­al resources, now rely heav­i­ly on the librar­i­ans to bring books, mag­a­zines, and news­pa­pers. The library, oper­at­ed from the mod­est cab­in of Fred­er­ick Guisler, is a whirl­wind of activ­i­ty, with books being bor­rowed and returned at an over­whelm­ing pace. Despite their best efforts, Margery O’Hare and her fel­low librar­i­ans strug­gle to main­tain order, as the influx of lit­er­a­ture exceeds their capac­i­ty to cat­a­log and dis­trib­ute effi­cient­ly.

With the dis­ar­ray mount­ing, Margery pro­pos­es hir­ing a full-time book sorter, some­one ded­i­cat­ed to orga­niz­ing the col­lec­tion, repair­ing torn books, and assem­bling scrap­books from sal­vaged pages. While the idea is met with enthu­si­asm, none of the cur­rent librar­i­ans are will­ing to take on the respon­si­bil­i­ty, as they pre­fer deliv­er­ing books to the remote house­holds rather than stay­ing cooped up inside. Their pas­sion lies in reach­ing iso­lat­ed fam­i­lies and wit­ness­ing first­hand the joy books bring to chil­dren and adults alike, mak­ing the prospect of admin­is­tra­tive duties unap­peal­ing. Margery, how­ev­er, remains deter­mined to find a solu­tion, know­ing that with­out struc­ture, the library could spi­ral into an unman­age­able mess.

Rec­og­niz­ing the need for addi­tion­al help, Margery sets out for Hoff­man, a small but bustling min­ing town where she hopes to recruit some­one for the posi­tion. The town, dom­i­nat­ed by coal min­ing oper­a­tions, reflects both the pros­per­i­ty and hard­ship of indus­tri­al life—miners work gru­el­ing hours in dan­ger­ous con­di­tions, while their fam­i­lies strug­gle with pover­ty and ill­ness. Among the influ­en­tial fig­ures in Hoff­man is Sven Gus­tavs­son, a respect­ed min­er and advo­cate for work­ers’ rights, whose opin­ion car­ries weight with­in the com­mu­ni­ty. Margery and Sven share a his­to­ry, their inter­ac­tions marked by a mutu­al respect and an under­cur­rent of some­thing deep­er, though unspo­ken.

Despite her hopes, Margery finds that Hoff­man offers lit­tle in terms of prospec­tive employ­ees, as most indi­vid­u­als are either occu­pied with min­ing-relat­ed work or unin­ter­est­ed in the task of sort­ing books. Unde­terred, she shifts her focus to Monarch Creek, a near­by set­tle­ment where she vis­its William Ken­worth and his sis­ter, Sophia. Sophia, a well-read and intel­li­gent woman, has the skills nec­es­sary to take on the role, hav­ing pre­vi­ous­ly worked in a school library. How­ev­er, her sta­tus as a Black woman in a racial­ly seg­re­gat­ed town presents chal­lenges that make employ­ment a risky endeav­or.

Margery makes her case, empha­siz­ing the library’s mis­sion to pro­vide knowl­edge and empow­er­ment to those who need it most, regard­less of soci­etal con­straints. Sophia, while hes­i­tant, lis­tens care­ful­ly, know­ing that finan­cial sta­bil­i­ty is hard to come by, and this oppor­tu­ni­ty could sig­nif­i­cant­ly improve her cir­cum­stances. How­ev­er, tak­ing the posi­tion would place both her and William in a pre­car­i­ous posi­tion, as many towns­folk har­bor prej­u­dices that could lead to back­lash.

As Margery con­tin­ues to advo­cate for Sophia’s involve­ment, the broad­er themes of racial injus­tice and soci­etal resis­tance to change become more pro­nounced. Sophia’s inter­nal debate reflects the dif­fi­cult choic­es faced by mar­gin­al­ized indi­vid­u­als who must weigh per­son­al progress against poten­tial dan­ger. In this moment, the library becomes more than just a place for books—it is a sym­bol of qui­et defi­ance against the oppres­sive norms that dic­tate life in Bai­leyville and the sur­round­ing areas.

Beyond the recruit­ment chal­lenges, the chap­ter also explores the deep­en­ing rela­tion­ships between the librar­i­ans and the peo­ple they serve. For Margery, every book deliv­ered is an act of resis­tance against igno­rance, and every per­son who learns to read is proof that knowl­edge can dis­man­tle bar­ri­ers. Her inter­ac­tions with Sven hint at an emo­tion­al con­nec­tion that nei­ther ful­ly acknowl­edges, yet their cama­raderie sug­gests that even in the face of hard­ship, there is room for love and com­pan­ion­ship.

By the end of the chap­ter, the future of the library remains uncer­tain, but its impact is unde­ni­able. Margery’s efforts to expand lit­er­a­cy and pro­vide oppor­tu­ni­ties for those who have long been over­looked mir­ror the broad­er strug­gles of indi­vid­u­als fight­ing for dig­ni­ty and equal­i­ty. The sto­ry under­scores that even the small­est acts—such as deliv­er­ing a book or offer­ing a job—can serve as cat­a­lysts for trans­for­ma­tion, prov­ing that change, no mat­ter how grad­ual, is always pos­si­ble.