One West Lafayette woman's book donations help Earl Park Library thrive

EARL PARK, Ind. (WLFI) - A West Lafayette woman's big heart and love for literature is helping a small town library flourish despite its small budget.

Earl Park librarian Connie Sparenberg said book donations have kept the historic library not only functioning, but thriving despite a not so great economy.

"There's a tendency when I read a book to lose the world around me," said West Lafayette resident Marian Delp who visits the Earl Park Library often.

Now retired from Purdue, Delp has more time to sit down with a good book, but it's what she does with it when she's finished that's the most fulfilling.

Every so often, Delp stops by the Earl Park library to donate boxes and boxes of books.

"When I've read it, or listened to it if it is an audio book, I would prefer to pass it on," she explained.

Delp said she fell in love with the Earl Park Library when she saw it was a 1913 Carnegie library nine years ago.

Librarian Connie Sparenberg said book donations from people like Delp keep the Earl Park Library thriving. The town has less than 350 people and the library depends on taxes for funding.

"If it wasn't for Marian, I really don't know how we would continue to expand our collection," Sparenberg said.

Sparenberg said the Earl Park Library is able to compete with many elementary school libraries thanks to donations. Out of the estimated 25,000 books at Earl Park, at least 25 to 30 percent were donated by Delp.

"All of our books on CD have come from Marian. 95 percent of our DVDs have come from Marian," Sparenberg said.

The giving doesn't stop with Delp. The library is paying it forward.

"I actually got a letter from the Pendleton Prison. He asked for donations. I went downstairs and I found books and I boxed them up and I sent them off to the prison," Sparenberg said.

She said the next chapter is for others to become part of the giving cycle.

"Every community has a small, little library. All those small libraries are needing your donations," Sparenberg said. "Everybody has stuff they don't want anymore. So, this is the time of giving."

What better time than the holiday season.