K.I. SAWYER — Her degree is in architectural technology, but her focus now is providing free books to the community.

Melissa Derby, who lives at K.I. Sawyer, has started a “pass-along” book program to get used books in the hands of people who might want to read them.

Derby holds a degree in architectural technology from Northern Michigan University, but ended up working as a registration clerk at the then-Marquette General Hospital emergency department for 10 years, and then for another five years at Norman Regional Hospital in Norman, Oklahoma.

Now she’s a stay-at-home mom.

“And loving every minute of it,” Derby said.

However, her other passion is her “bookmobile,” which really isn’t a bookmobile in the traditional sense as much as her distributing books in her van.

The idea started with a visit to the Victory Lutheran Church Thrift Store at K.I. Sawyer.

Derby noticed what was being done with unsold books.

“What they couldn’t sell they were throwing away in the dumpster,” she said.

Not wanting the books to be discarded, Derby said she could disburse them to other places.

Those places included local nursing homes and the Jacobetti Home for Veterans and Mill Creek Senior Living Community, both in Marquette.

“I kind of replaced their whole library,” Derby said of Mill Creek.

That left her with a dilemma.

“All of a sudden I had all these books left,” Derby said.

In August, she put free books on a table on her yard, and posted their availability on the Sawyer website.

It went well.

“I had just a great response for people wanting books, kids’ books, adult books,” Derby said. “They just kept messaging me for days afterwards.”

However, books continue to gather in her duplex.

Derby estimated she has 2,000 to 3,000 books in many genres, including romance, Western, self-help, health, cookbooks and children’s books.

Her method involves going to places such as the Gwinn Wellness Fair and the NICE Community Market Place, which took place at Aspen Ridge Elementary School in Ishpeming.

“It’s more like an exchange program,” Derby said. “If people finished their books and they don’t know what to do with them, they call me and I pick them up.”

She then cleans up the books and checks for their quality.

Why is Derby going to all this effort?

“My goal is to promote literacy and just kind of keep books alive,” she said. “We’re fighting a generation of video games and internet and cell phone kids.”

Her 5-year-old daughter Allie, though, loves to read books.

“Princess books,” the girl said.

Derby acknowledged she and her kids have computers, but there’s a time and a place for them.

“I believe smart phones are dumbing us down,” Derby said.

Distributing books throughout the community is a way for her to cut down on the digital way of getting information and get back to reading words on pages.

If people like or don’t like books obtained from Derby’s “bookmobile,” the books still are theirs to keep.

After they read it, they can pass them on to other people or return them to her.

To learn more, or donate or receive books, contact Derby at 906-204-9406 or visit the Facebook page, Read UP Bookmobile.

If nothing else, people can enjoy the Facebook posts, one of which read: “It is Dr. Seuss week at our house. So I will be posting quotes from his books. Can you tell me what books they are from?”

Christie Bleck can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 250.