Craig Daily Press

Yvette Blanchard has spent the past 25 years working for the libraries of Louisiana's Terrebonne Parish, about 50 miles southwest of New Orleans.

Nothing could have prepared Blanchard for the impact Hurricane Rita had on her community's valued book collection.

"Personally, it was devastating," Blanchard said. "Every--thing in the Grand Caillou branch building was lost. It was declared a disaster. We couldn't get into it for seven days, and by the time we did, the mold had taken over and destroyed all the books."

All of the Caillou branch's books and equipment, as well as a large percentage of books at the nearby Chauvin branch, made hurricane recovery even more difficult for the town of Houma, the Terrebonne Parish seat.

Fortunately for Blanchard and Terrebonne Parish, the Houma Rotary Club connected member Tom Watkins with the Rotary Clubs of Craig and Steamboat Springs.

"I was put in touch with Jim Steinberg, and when he asked ‘What do you need? We want to help,' I threw the library idea out there," Watkins said. "I knew the Caillou library got smoked pretty good. For all intensive purposes, the inside was destroyed. Computers, books, furniture, they're all completely unusable."

Steinberg, a Steamboat Springs Rotarian, has since led a community drive to collect at least 25,000 books and other materials for the hurricane-ravaged libraries.

"When we finish collecting, we have to sort, box, shrink-wrap and ship them more than 1,500 miles to Louisiana," Steinberg said.

The book drive will be held April 2 to 8 -- National Library Week -- in Craig and Steamboat. The campaign is called, "Books for the Bayou."

Steinberg said hardcover books in good condition (no paperbacks, text books or magazines) are needed. Also needed are PG-rated movies, educational programs and audio books on cassette or DVD. A core list of book titles is posted on www.steamboatlibrary.org.

The Craig drop-off locations include K-Mart, Safeway, City Market and Moffat County High School. Rotarians will collect books from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. April 1 with the final school collection April 4.

"The book drive here in Craig will be co-sponsored by the Sagebrush Reading Council and the student council at the high school," reading council member Janele Husband said. "By collecting books, it's great to see how our community can help contribute to the libraries' recovery."

"The generosity we've experienced is overwhelming and amazing," Watkins said. "If you're helping us out, we want to go out and shake y'all's hands."

Watkins and Terrebonne Par--ish Library System Assistant Director Amy Whipple will arrive in Steamboat on March 31 to kick off the campaign.

For more information, contact Jim Steinberg at (970) 879-3718 or Craig Rotary Club President Jane Krogman at (970) 824-7036. Public financial contributions also are needed to help supply the libraries with replacement computers, printers and office supplies. Such contributions are payable to Books for the Bayou, P.O. Box 771192, Steamboat Springs, CO 80477.