PORT TOWNSEND — A donation from a 97-year-old woman subsidized the purchase of 40 large-print books by the Port Townsend Library, expanding its inventory of books developed for the sight-impaired.
Prior to her birthday in July, Barbara Clayton, a resident of Seaport Landing — a retirement community — decided she wanted gifts that would benefit the local library, a cause she has supported all her life.
“My family usually gives me clothes and chocolate,” she said.
“I have enough clothes to last me and have enough chocolate, although sometimes I give it to other [Seaport Landing] residents to make me more popular.”
Clayton asked her family to contribute any gifts for her birthday to the Port Townsend Friends of the Library, which eventually took in about $600.
This included a $97 contribution from Clayton, a dollar for each year of her life.
After collecting the money, the Friends of the Library met and settled on large-print books.
“Large-print books are wonderful for people who are avid readers but have a vision impairment,” said Melody Sky Eisler, director of the public library at 1220 Lawrence St.
“They are in demand in Port Townsend, and our patrons are always asking for new titles.”
The new books were made available for circulation Wednesday.
Before Clayton’s donation, the library had 960 large-print books.
It now has an even 1,000, Eisler said.
The titles vary, from fiction to nonfiction. The Friends of the Library took special care to avoid buying duplicate titles, Eisler said.
She said large-print books can cost twice as much as standard books because of the printing process and the use of more pages.
They are, she said, generally more durable and better constructed than standard library books.
Clayton spent six years as a reporter for a small-town Missouri weekly, a period she characterizes as “the best time of my life.”
During that time, she covered meetings and wrote news and feature stories until the paper was sold.
“I never used a tape recorder,” she said. “I thought I was doing a good job taking notes.
“Sometimes I have a bad dream that I have to go in and take over a newspaper and I don’t know how to do it.”
Clayton still writes. She has written 44 profiles of Seaport Landing residents that are published in the facility’s newsletter.
Clayton moved to Port Townsend in 2010 to be close to her son, Mike Cornforth, and his wife, Linda Martin, who is a member of the Friends of the Library Board.
Aside from writing and reading, Clayton spends a lot of time with her dog, Jacques, a 16-year-old terrier mix.
“We are growing old together,” she said.
“He takes me out for walks, and I take him out for walks.”
________
Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
