Local librarians making mats for the homeless

The librarians at the University of Southern Mississippi are collecting trash bags for a good cause.

Whenever you leave a fast-food restaurant or a grocery store with a plastic bag, your first thought may be to head for the trash can, but there is a librarian at Southern Miss that is using them to help the homeless.

Karen Shaw was a librarian at the University of Southern Mississippi for 44 years, but some students know her as ‘the bag lady.’

She collects plastic bags from students on campus to be repurposed as plastic mats which she donates to the homeless. Shaw attended a workshop held by the sustainability department where she learned how to make these mats.

Shaw says the idea burned in the back of her mind for months. She brought the idea to the Wesley Center on campus and they began collecting plastic bag donations. “It was in the back of my mind, burning for a while before it started. Three of them have personally been given away and one of them, individual, that was sleeping on the ground.”

It takes between 600 and 900 bags to make one mat, but Shaw has a helping hand. After collecting and tying the bags, she hands the project off to Kelley Hartfield, the library’s administrative assistant. “My wonderful colleague Karen Shaw introduced me to the bag lady life. I thought I could help out by crocheting the mats. Like she said 600-900 bags. She does the legwork for me then I simply crochet them.”

The mats can be used under sleeping bags or blankets to eliminate moisture from the ground.

Shaw is now retired, but leaves a legacy on campus.