Carla Winston: Librarian

by Charles McGuigan 06.2026

In Virginia when folks talk about the founding of our Republic, they invariably give nod to a sort of laic trinity—Washington, Jefferson, and Madison, roughly corresponding to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. But in the city of my birth—Philadelphia—the laurels are often laid first before another founder, the bespectacled Ben Franklin. He was a devout scientist, an inventor extraordinaire. Among his inventions were the lightning rod and swim fins, the glass armonica and even the bifocals that rested on the bridge of his nose. He was a writer, a printer, a publisher, and  penned America’s first political cartoon. The art of his diplomatic skills helped win the American Revolution by gaining the support of France, which nearly bankrupted its own government in order to ensure our independence. This, too: he considered slavery to be inherently evil, wrote many tracts urging its abolition, served as president of the Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery, and in 1790 petitioned Congress to end slavery and the slave trade. Of course, this plea fell on deaf ears. After all, the three persons making up Virginia’s sacred triad owned human beings in great abundance. Franklin also created three institutions that helped move us toward being a more perfect union. Old Ben is a kind of patron saint of firefighters having founded the Union Fire Company, America’s first volunteer fire company, where he fought flames alongside other firemen. He also helped establish the United States Postal Service and served as our first Postmaster General. (And by the way, the Post Office was never meant to turn a profit; it was established so that all Americans could have their mail delivered at the same cost.) Then, in 1731 this man did something that would help protect our freedom in untold ways through education and exposure to every conceivable idea in existence. Perhaps the most important bulwark for any democratic republic, our public libraries grew from a seed planted by Ben Franklin, an institution called The Library Company of Philadelphia.

I’m sitting in the conference room of Ginter Park Branch Library, a bastion of freedom, with one of its guardians—Carla Winston.

When I mention some of the books banned in public school libraries across the country, she fairly cringes. Some of the most frequently banned books “Slaughterhouse-Five,” “The Handmaid’s Tale,” “Beloved,” and scores of others are vastly important works of the American canon. When I mention Alice Walker, Carla shakes her head. “I can’t believe they would take  that off the shelves,” she says. “I remember when I read ‘The Color Purple,’ it opened my eyes. It was awesome.”

Carla considers the books she’s read over the years, how they’ve influenced her, instructed her, taught her about other perspectives and experiences.  “Reading is so important because it takes you away from your reality,” she says. “It helps you to process what’s going on in your life and your imagination can run wild and you can live in somebody else’s shoes. You embrace people of all colors and from all walks of life because, you know, we all bleed red. We all got to put our pants on one leg at a time. To me it's all about education, and no one can ever take that away from you.”

Carla Winston has been a permanent fixture at the library here in Northside for a long time. She began her career in the Richmond public libraries about fifteen years ago when she was working as a contractor at the Hull Street Branch. “I then became a permanent employee and have been here for about ten years,” she says. “I believe it was a calling for me to be here.”

She remembers applying for the job. “I didn't have a college degree and all that fancy stuff,” says Carla. “But my personality overtook everything. I had an interview with three people in administration and they loved me. I was just very real. I wasn't trying to portray an image. I spoke from the heart and they gave me the opportunity. And I've been here ever since.”

Back in 2020, Carla lost her former husband to COVID, and within the year her oldest son died. “He had epilepsy, and his death came back to back with my husband’s death,” she says. “My son had a seizure, hit his head, and passed away. He was just twenty-four.”

She remembers how, in her grief, the entire staff of the library came to her support. They even shut the library down for a few hours so everyone there could attend her son’s funeral. “I saw them in a different light,” says Carla. “I knew they were friends and co-workers before. But this here is family. I’m at the right place I need to be. They are all so supportive of me. That’s how we are at the Ginter Park Branch. This is more than a library.”

Along with her duties as a librarian, Carla takes it upon herself to help people navigate a world that might be alien to them. “I help people that are older, from a different generation, who don't know about computers,” she tells me. “I help them do a resume and apply for a job. They come in and I ask, ‘What do you need?’ And if I can help, I schedule an appointment for them to help them. I’ll help them file for social security if they need that. Because not everybody knows how to read or how to use a computer. And I've had plenty of people come back and thank me for helping them get a job or thank me for just spending time with them. It's not in my job description, but it's something that needed to be done.”

During the brutally cold days of  winter and the dog days of summer, some folks find refuge in the library just to escape the cruelty of the elements.  “They need a place to stay warm, or to stay cool,” says Carla. “And they're welcome here. And the majority of these people I know. They live in the neighborhood.  I've lived in the Northside all my life, so I've seen them. They're not new to me. I know them from the outside.”

Carla remember how her grandmother would invite people into her home and cook a meal for them, and feed them. “We were taught to not pass judgment on anybody because it can happen to any one of us at any time,” she says. In her off time, Carla feeds those experiencing homelessness, and she also offers bags containing toiletries for those without these common comforts. “Right now I just go to the Dollar Tree and do it myself,” she says.” I'm not the type of person to wait around. If I have an idea, I'm going to make it happen. In the summertime I drive around to where I know they hang out at and give them water, and take them a sandwich.”

If you’ve spent any amount of time at the Ginter Park Branch, you’ve probably noticed that regardless the season or the holiday there are tastefully placed decorations throughout. This, too, is the handiwork of Carla Winston, who had worked for years as an events coordinator. She takes me to a  closet in the rear of the library that is filled with every sort of decoration imaginable.

“It’s all my stuff,” she says.  “And I decorate for every holiday. You name it.” There’s a plethora of ornaments and spangles for Christmas and Easter, St. Patrick’s Day and Halloween.

“I'm not obligated to do this,” Carla says. “It’s something I love to do. And I get tired of seeing the same stuff over and over, so I keep adding on.”

She covers just about any celebratory time you could conceive of. “Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Valentine's Day,  Father's Day, Cinco de Mayo, Juneteenth,” Carla says. “And I need to do Pride Month.”

The Ginter Park Branch Library embraces exactly what Old Ben Franklin had in mind—a place of learning for all people. And Carla Winston, who has an almost palpable radiance, pushes the notion of a free lending library even further along.