This Woman Designs Private Libraries for a Living
Over a year into our cooped up existence, my family and I have taken to playing a game. It’s called Extra Room. The rules are simple: If an extra room materialized in our house overnight, what would we do with it?
For me, the answer is easy, because it's always been the same. I’d wave my wand and get my own library—the kind you see on Pinterest, with high shelves and a cozy chair for one. (In addition to books, I’d also like a dollop of privacy, pretty please.) And in that alternate reality, I’d summon Christy Smirl, the owner and creator of Foxtail Books, to conjure up dark wood and antique tome-filled shelves to rival the ones in Beauty and the Beast.
A private librarian, Smirl has been creating custom book collections for big-name clients since she started her company in 2016. So big, that she can't actually share their identities—she can only give us teasers on what she curates for them. There was the retired NFL player with a sleek sports library. The professional chef who wanted her cookbooks to live alongside her kitchen, and the L.A. couple who erected a wall of floor-to-ceiling books for their 12-year-old daughter.
Most of Smirl's clients find her through referrals from pros in the design world. Others track her down through Google, wondering if a service like the one Smirl offers even exists. "People with a large book collection, or a house they would love to have filled with one, search the web to solve those problems—and here I am," she says.
Unlike other dream jobs, like a novelist or interior decorator, Smirl had to invent this one herself. While private librarians certainly exist—like Gwyneth Paltrow’s go-to book curator, Thatcher Wine, known for his gorgeous, custom-made spines—Smirl is set apart in the “not crowded” field by her masters degree in library science, which allows her to create bespoke libraries that are designed not just to look good, but to be read from.
Thanks to her background as a librarian, Smirl feels confident in being able to create "quintessential collections" on any topic. "It's not my job to have read every book in the world. It’s my job to be resourceful," she says. Smirl’s research skills especially emerge when scouring for the ideal book and its ideal edition. She cites the many versions of the classic Pride and Prejudice as an example. “You can have your Jane Austen and still maintain a particular look in a room—a bright red paperback, or a classy leather-bound one,” she explains.
After interviewing clients to discern their needs and particular tastes or genre preferences, Smirl turns to an array of resources to assemble their fantasy library: Publishers, bookstores, consumer reviews, subject experts in specific fields, book fairs, museum shops, and her own network of connections for recommendations.
Smirl also includes "special" books—like British editions, antiquarian books, signed copies, or out-of-print critical darlings—so the finished library doesn't feel impersonal, as if it were copy-and-pasted out of a bookstore. The "hunt," as she calls it, takes her from rare book fairs to eBay. She recently found a flannel-bound copy of The Call of the Wild, which might serve as a centerpiece for a library with a mountain vibe.
Clearly, Smirl’s task is far more complex than creating the Instagram-worthy shelves I so crave. “If you were going to do that, you’d buy books by the foot, which is a service, too,” Smirl explains. (In fact, the D.C.-based company Books By the Foot has cited a booming business during the pandemic as public figures sought to give their Zoom backgrounds the sheen of erudition via polished shelves.) Instead, people who seek Smirl’s expertise are in search of works that'll actually spark their interest.
Given the equal weight Foxtail Books places on form and function, Smirl says “private librarian” isn’t exactly the right term for her role. Smirl straddles four different jobs: Project manager, interior designer, rare books seller, and finally, librarian. Actually, make that six jobs—after some deliberation, she adds psychologist and couples therapist to the list.
“That happens when you’re helping people decide what to get rid of and what their priorities are in a room,” Smirl says, recalling the time she was hired to split a couple’s pre-existing collection between their two homes during the pandemic.
The couple’s charged interaction points to the heart of Smirl’s art form: She’s technically organizing bookshelves, but she’s actually helping create a sense of identity. "Books are the places that your mind and heart have been,” she says. “There's a reason that when we are in someone's house, we're curious about what's on the shelves. We're wondering who they are.”
Designing luxury at-home libraries wasn’t originally Smirl’s plan. Growing up in Denver, CO, she didn’t actually have much of a plan at all—though her mother always knew her daughter was destined for a degree in library sciences.
As is so often the case, it took years before Smirl realized her mother was right. While studying at the University of Denver, Smirl met an aspiring professional librarian in the graduate school. Suddenly, while speaking to her new acquaintance about her courses, Smirl heard the click of her life coming together. “That sounds perfect for my brain,” Smirl recalls thinking. “I love culture and the arts. I’m a tactile person and I love books.”
She, too, went on to receive a degree in library science. After moving to Jackson Hole, WY with her then-boyfriend, now-husband, Smirl was hired as a reference librarian at the picturesque mountain town's only public library. Located in the richest county in the United States, Jackson Hole has become a mecca for wealthy Americans in search of skiing, stunning views, and tax havens. The public library's clientele was in the market for luxury services—and one such person gave Smirl the idea for her own.
Five years before founding Foxtail Books, a patron at Teton County Library asked Smirl whether she knew anyone who could help organize her personal bookshelves. Smirl volunteered and spent the weekend previewing what would become her business. “In a way, that woman made up the job. I enjoyed it so much that I spent another five years at the library after that thinking, What else could I do with these skills? What else could I do that would be more of a creative outlet for me?” Smirl says.
In 2016, with the support of her husband and a web of connections, Smirl felt ready to launch a business in what she felt was a hole in the luxury services market. “I didn't have anyone to emulate. I was creating it on my own. But I thought: I think if I take this seriously and really go for it, then I can make something of it. No one’s doing it in this precise way. I’m going to be the one,” she said.
Smirl eventually hopes to open an office on the East Coast. Other dreams include building a yacht library and one in a New York penthouse. “Anywhere there is an incredible home, I picture the incredible library that belongs there,” Smirl says.
Now, Smirl leads a busy, jet-setting existence (at least, she did before the pandemic). But one thing hasn’t changed since her days as a public librarian: After all that time dealing with shelves, the ones Smirl cares least about are her own. She rarely posts “shelfies” on social media, and admittedly isn’t attached to her personal collection.
A librarian at her core, Smirl derives the most satisfaction from passing books she enjoys to people who will appreciate them equally. “If I love reading something, I love passing it along,” she says. “Books have such long lives and should live in different places."
Through her job, she celebrates the transient nature of books. Her office is a way station for books that will, one day, live in home libraries around the country. Chances are, those libraries will not be their final destination. When Smirl meanders around antiquarian fairs for her clients, she's touching books that are, at times, hundreds of years old.
Books tell us stories—but we only know part of their stories, as they move from shelf to shelf, from life to life. For that reason, we'll add a seventh job to Smirl's list: Shepherd, herding books from one place to the next.
For more ways to live your best life plus all things Oprah, sign up for our newsletter!
You Might Also Like
