The Famous Peace Corps Book Lockers
[In the early days of the agency, PCVs were ‘equipped’ with a book locker when they went off to their sites. From what I have been able to find out, it was Eunice Shriver who came up with the idea of sending PCVs overseas with a box of books. Books for their own enjoyment and to use as ‘starter’ libraries in villages and towns in the developing world. By the mid-60s, however, these book lockers for Volunteers were discontinued, too expensive for the agency. However, in an early memo to PCVs, Sarge Shriver explained to the Volunteers what the book lockers were all about:] “We know you need books,” he wrote. “This Booklocker of paperbacks and other inexpensive publications is designed to meet that need. It includes classics and contemporary writing by both American and foreign authors, as well as titles on American history, politics, and social thought. There are also books on the area where you are . . .
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Myra Janus
I was a PC Volunteer in Ghana and served from 1968 to 1970. I have fond memories of spending many…