One in 8,200 Where the personalities of Middlebury proper are celebrated Otter Creek bookworm brings life to Midd

Author: Liam Gluck

Marked only by a small wooden plank with white stenciled letters, the Otter Creek Used Bookstore occupies 20 Main St. with some humility.

"Believe it or not, a lot of people know us by the sign," said Barbara Harding, who co-owns Addison County's one and only used bookstore with her husband, Rusty. "Either that, or it spreads by word of mouth. We don't do a lot of marketing."

For what it lacks in advertisement, Otter Creek Used Books makes up for in character. Dog-eared paperbacks alternate with yellowed almanacs on fading lilac shelves. The shelves are adorned with pastel-colored popsicle sticks, on which the books' subjects have been Sharpied. Harding said she and her husband worked hard at "putting their personality into this place," and it's clear that they prefer the homemade and the eclectic.

A trip down one particular shelf reveals her unique personality: one can leaf through Ellen DeGeneres' autobiography, the Atlas of Global Geography and "The Furniture Decorator" by George Grotz (where one can go "from gunk to glow").

"My family - we're eclectic readers," said Harding. "This store had to be eclectic, because we're eclectic." Her store operates like an exchange: donors may drop off books, sometimes by the bagful, and customers (whether college students, members of town or even her regulars from Burlington) purchase them cheap. The one requirement? That the books have aged.

"I just love old things," Barbara said with a smile, "books as well." Used books, she likes to argue, are of significantly more value than new ones. "I always wonder, you know, who owned the book before? Who read it? If I liked it, who else liked it?"

Barbara combines her imagination with a keen sense of humor. She described her job the same way a Midd-kid might describe Winter Term: "Oh my God, I have no deadlines and I can do whatever I want!" And while telling the story of a woman who almost bought a book online before trying her store, she exclaimed, "Phew! Made me look good!"

A graduate of Middlebury Union High School and former member of the Addison County Chamber of Commerce, Barbara said she makes sure to give to the community when she can. She plans to renovate the children's book section (while keeping the wine crate shelving) to make it more accommodating for kids. She's also sold a collection of Samuel de Champlain literature for the quadri-centennial celebration of the explorer's discovery of Lake Champlain. She hopes to display recent art projects of College undergrads in her store.

In a similar fashion to the sign outside her store, Barbara doeesn't tout her unique personality from behind the sales desk. But, like the store itself, her personality becomes evident as soon as you open the door.