Wildcat Lending Library turns tables on tradition

DOUG HILL

LOCAL COLUMNIST

At September’s arts event called Ink The Block Party, Felix Richter-Addo was behind a table laden with books. All around him were artists selling their prints, jewelry, paintings and trinkets. Richter-Addo’s books were displayed professionally with some catching the eye from vertical stands.

However, none of these hard and soft cover tomes were for sale. He was encouraging people to take them free of charge to be returned after reading at a later date. Richter-Addo is the Library Curator of Wildcat Lending Library based sin Norman. Wildcat is named after the kinds of organized labor strikes that occur without union authorization. It’s an unauthorized library that has both a website, wildcatlibrary. net, and physical location in Gray Owl Coffee, 223 E. Gray Street. Richter-Addo spoke about why he provides this unusual service to the community and how it works.

“I don’t work in library science, I did grow up in the library though,” he said. “I was the sort of kid who would read off the shelves and bring bags and bags of books home. We weren’t ever a family that would buy books, not when we could get them from the libraries.”

Public libraries are still precious to Richter-Addo, who was born and raised in Norman. The Pioneer Library System is where his passion was kindled. Now he buys books privately out of his own pocket and from Patreon donations, then lends them to strangers with the understanding they’ll be returned at some point.

“One definition of curation is the act of reshaping and stewarding collections as in galleries and exhibitions,” he said. “I consider myself an artist in what I do and practice my art when I scour bookshop shelves for my next purchases.”

Wildcat partners with downtown’s Gray Owl Coffee shop in the Walker Arts District, along with setting up tables at select Norman events. Book pick-up appointments may also be arranged through the website.

“I have shelves to house my books at Gray Owl,” Richter- Addo said. “It’s an easy space for people to return books and take them home from there. Gray Owl is my favorite place in town and it’s a dream to work with them. I’m happy with the way it works.”

Richter-Addo’s ethos is that books are meant to be passed around.

“This should not be a me-only thing,” he said. “It makes sense that when people love a book, they want everyone to read it. I believe the ideal life of a book is to be shared and the library facilitates that. I think it’s so important to have books, we still depend on them regardless of technology now. We are dependent on the knowledge that people put together in books.”

Wildcat Lending Library’s book titles tend toward queer and transgender themes and topics, lesser-known ones as opposed to classics. Patrons of the lending service run the gamut.

“There are books to help understand yourself, learn about friends and loved ones, to reach out to those questioning and to educate the public. Wildcat may be queer and trans-focused but humanity itself is a mosaic of difference and I want all of that to be represented in my library,” Richter-Addo said.

Wildcat wants its books back but unlike the public library there’s no one due date fits all. Wildcat is the Burger King of libraries — have it your way on when to return the book you checked out.

“As long as you’re enjoying the book please take your time with it,” Richter-Addo said. “If you decide not to continue reading it, please bring it back. But people need time with books and our attention economy makes reading harder than it used to be, before smart phones and tablets. The three-week limit we grew up with no longer makes sense for working adults.”

Richter-Addo relishes the conversations he has with patrons at the events where he sets up a table. At May’s Norman Pride festival, over 60 books were checked out during that day in Andrews Park.

“Lots of very cool conversations with people, which is one of the best parts of doing this,” he said. “People coming by and talking about books.”

Richter-Addo is a oneperson book purchasing department.

“I either source books directly from independent book stores or from a website called bookshop.org that give proceeds to the independent you specify,” he said. “I strictly don’t buy from Amazon, Barnes and Noble or big box sellers. Independent bookstores are a really valuable asset to a community and while I’m all about lending books, there’s a place for buying them and I want to support that as much as possible.

Independents Green Feather Book Company, 300 W. Gray Street and The Floating Bookshop in Oklahoma City are two of Wildcat’s sources.

“I think what I like most about doing this is recommending books to people,” Richter-Addo said. “It’s touching when people trust me with their interests. Someone looking for science fiction or romance then I can tell them this book or another. That’s really nice for me to get to do.”

Felix Richter-Addo at his Wildcat Library table during a Norman event in September.

Doug Hill | For The Transcript