New St. Paul bookstore aims to carry on legacy, massive collection of 'Book Bag Lady'

A St. Paul couple is asking for the community’s help to maintain a collection of 300,000 books left behind by the locally beloved “Book Bag Lady.”

A GoFundMe was created on behalf of Rhonda Paoli and Joe Whebbe, the St. Paul couple who inherited Jeanette Kamman’s book collection. Kamman, who died in 2014, left behind a collection of 300,000 books housed in three different St. Paul homes.

On Saturday, Paoli and Whebbe celebrated the grand opening of The Book Lady’s Library. Paoli and Whebbe say they have spent more than $140,000 moving and storing the collection of books.

The two started the GoFundMe to cover costs associated with operating the store and maintaining and cataloging the books.

The couple also plans to open a second bookstore in the future, according to the fundraiser.

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