Want to instill a love of reading in your kids? You could take them to the city library, of course. But right here in Lake Highlands, there’s another option you might not know about: Launa’s Little Library. Special for many reasons, it’s the only library of its kind in our neighborhood, and possibly the only one of its kind anywhere.
Arthiss Kliever runs the library in an upstairs room of her Lake Highlands home.
“We’re unique,” she says. “I’ve never heard of another one like it anywhere.”
Kliever came up with the idea for the library after her daughter, Launa, left the Dallas area. A former schoolteacher, Launa had built up a classroom library of more than 1,000 children’s books. Since she couldn’t take them with her, she left them with mom.
“I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with them,” says Kliever, who helped build the collection. “I didn’t want to let them go, but I knew I wanted to get them in the hands of kids.”
Kliever was brainstorming on how to make the best use of the books when she got an idea: Why not have a small library in her home, so she could keep the books but make them available to children at the same time?
She talked it over with her husband.
“He was extremely supportive, very enthusiastic,” she says.
Besides, Kliever says, they were already planning renovations to their home, so it was a perfect time to clean out the junk room upstairs and put it to good use.
They gave the walls a fresh coat of paint, put in skylights and laid new carpet. Then they spent all summer building bright yellow and red shelving for the books. By the time they finished, the room was transformed into an inviting, kid-friendly home for all their books…the original 1,000, plus a couple thousand more.
Since opening in October 2001, the library has gained a loyal group of patrons from around the neighborhood, especially younger kids.
Three library regulars are Lake Highlands resident Sarah Dorsey and her children, 3-year-old Elaina and 1-year-old Michael. Dorsey first visited the library after hearing about it from a neighbor.
“I had no idea what was in store when we went,” she says. “I pictured some dark room in somebody’s house. But I was amazed at the work they put into it. It’s so cozy, like something you’d read about in a storybook. And she’s got a great collection. It’s a very special place.”
Elaina, who likes to visit with “Mr. and Mrs. K” when she’s there, was eager to add her comments about the library, too. “I like all of the Barbie books that are gorgeous,” she says.
But Launa’s isn’t just a fun, colorful library. It’s also a well-run, highly organized one. Kliever worked for 10 years at the SMU library and thrives on detail. She keeps a laptop computer database of every book and every child who checks one out. She changes featured displays each month and is always adding new books. And she still uses the old pocket and card system for checking out books, which went the way of the rotary telephone in most libraries. Each book has its own card with a handwritten due date tucked inside.
All children receive their own library card, although Kliever says she doesn’t need them.
“I get to know all their names,” she says. “But the kids really like having them and usually show them to me.”
And a card’s not all they get. Kliever personally makes a cloth book bag (bright yellow with red handles) and bookmark (carefully covered with contact paper so it will last) for every new patron.
She even keeps a real card catalog – something we may never see again in city or school libraries.
“It’s really not used that much,” she says. “But I wanted to have one.”
Sounds like a lot of work for the money? It is, especially considering that Kliever doesn’t make any money. The library is free, with only nominal fines for late returns, which don’t begin to cover the cost of the books, supplies or her time.
But Kliever has a simple reason for doing it.
“It’s a marriage of all my favorite things,” she says. “I’m actually not an avid reader, but I love children’s books. I love the detail work. And I love the kids. Every part of it is fun.”
Another benefit, Kliever says, is that the library helped her meet neighbors she probably wouldn’t have otherwise.
“Moms often bring all their young children in, so I’ve gotten to watch some grow from newborns to walking. I’ve met such nice people from my neighborhood, such nice kids. It’s just a pleasure being of service to the community.”
Dorsey, who grew up in the area, agrees.
“I’ve met so many neighborhood moms and kids there,” she says. “It really brings the community together. Now we schedule our week around it. That’s how much we love it.”
