The Appalachian Liberation Library Needs Your Help
What We Need Help With
Getting our library and organizing space back open! The building housing the Appalachian Liberation Library in Johnson City, Tennessee, suffered damage in heavy winds toward the end of January. A little over $1,000 in repairs have already been made to restore the electrical service and patch roof leaks, but water is still coming in through the roof. The roof will need to be replaced, and soon, before it causes additional damage. And because the leaking water poses an electrical hazard through the bathroom light fixtures, we've had to shut off the main power, which means we are completely closed down until the roof is fixed.
Who We Are
The all-volunteer-run Appalachian Liberation Library is a free community library specializing in books, journals, zines, and events on Appalachia, labor history, political theory, social justice, and social movements. The building also acts as a free meeting, training, organizing, and event space for the local DSA chapter, local street medics, and other like-minded folks. It’s also a storage and distribution point for care packs for those who need them; it hosts a small free food pantry; and it always has free hot and cold drinks and snacks on hand for visitors.
It is the only place of its kind in Northeast Tennessee.
We get by entirely on donations. The cash donations that come in are just enough to keep us stocked with beverages, snacks, toilet paper, and cleaning supplies. Items for the care packs are donated from people in the community, as are all the books on our shelves. The building itself is also a donation: we get to use the space free of charge, thanks to the owner’s belief in what the Appalachian Liberation Library is doing. The owner also covers all our utilities.
Why We’re Asking for Help
The building owner has not only put $1000 into the recent storm repairs, they spent a significant amount of money—replacing all the electrical and plumbing, installing a new HVAC system, and redoing the floors—last year, in order for us to be able to move into the building.
The owner does not have the cash to replace the roof. They would have to take on a loan. The owner makes no money off this building and spends hundreds on taxes and utilities every month to make it possible for us to be there.
We want this building—and the Appalachian Liberation Library—to stand for a long time. We don’t want it burdened by debt, and we don’t want to see any increased risk to the owner that might make it impossible for them to let us keep using the building.
Therefore, we’re trying to help with as much of the repair costs as we can. Ideally, we’d like to raise enough to replace not just the roof but also the bathroom light fixtures, take care of any bathroom ceiling damage caused by the roof leak, and repair or replace the wooden fence that was also destroyed in the storm.
How the Funds Will be Spent
All contributions will be put toward the cost of recovering from the storm damage, including replacing the failing roof, repairing the electrical work that's been damaged by the roof leaks, and repair of the wooden fence that was damaged in the storm. The funds are being transferred directly to the building owner’s bank account as they come in, and we'll be reporting back on work as it's done on the building.
Should we raise more than is required for these repairs, the Appalachian Liberation Library will use any remaining funds to purchase toiletries and socks for the free care packs we give out to those in need. Should this campaign not cover the full cost of the repairs, the funds will be used to do as much of the repairs as is possible, and we will continue to work on ways to finish covering the costs.
Can you help?
We've been closed since January 23rd. We miss our folks who come in for care packs, hot drinks, and an hour or two of respite from the cold. We miss our fellow readers and philosophers who stop by for books and conversation. We miss hosting Northeast TN DSA's meetings, screening old labor films, organizing pot lucks & radical craft klatches, talking about the most important issues of our time, meeting all kinds of new people, and making plans together to make our world a better one.
Any financial help you can provide would mean a whole lot to a whole lot of people in this neck of the woods—and you would become part of our story, the story of how a radical little library/community space rooted itself in place in a deep red state, and kept on growing.
Thank you.
