Meetings in coffee shops often lead to big ideas, some that never happen and some that do. For three women in Denver, a caffeinated conversation led to a project centered on community literacy and providing access to books that reflect the experiences of Black and Brown communities.

The Melanated Book Exchange was started in October by Arvian Harper, Asia Lyons, and Bertha Gaspar, who say the project is 100% driven by love and passion.

Melanated hosts pop-up events filled with books either written by authors of color or telling stories about people of color.

“Where else can you find that in one spot, especially here in Denver?” Harper said.

All three women have backgrounds in education and share a lifelong love of reading. And they all noticed a common problem.

“Our stories from our authors or about our lives, about our history, are always a small section of a space, whether that’s a library, a bookstore, or a classroom,” Harper said. “We wanted to create a place where people like us can find all the stories in one spot and share them in community.”

Every book in the exchange has been donated. Gaspar said the effort began with a simple social media campaign and a network of supporters. “We created our Instagram page, and from there we started reaching out and connecting to our friends, family, just anyone who had books and knew the vision and the mission that we had,” she said.

Lyons said the first set of donations was the hardest part, but the response was “amazing,” and they felt a lot of love and support for their idea.

By February, they had enough books for the first pop-up event. By summer, their event at Urban Symbiosis in northwest Aurora was 1,200 books strong, the passion of the women evident in the carefully curated tables of titles with large plastic tubs brimming with books in the space underneath.

The concept is simple: bring a book, take a book. “If you don’t have one,” Lyons added, “we would love a monetary donation so that we can replace that book if we need to purchase one or buy supplies we need to keep the exchange going, like our T-shirts, or supplies for our bookmark station, or food for the volunteers.”

Volunteering time is also appreciated, Lyons said. Help is needed for picking up donated books from people who are farther away or who can’t drive to drop off donations.

The books continue to come from a variety of people and places. When Lewis’ daughter’s school, St. Elizabeth’s, closed at the end of the academic year, the women were able to get some children’s books, but there weren’t many in Spanish, which is one of several needs. Adult nonfiction books and large-print books for older adults or people with vision problems are also needed.

Gaspar said it’s important they have books “everyone can enjoy because people are struggling to read the books that we have right now with the smaller print that we have right now.”

All three women are making time for Melanated alongside other things they’re working on—consulting, a podcast, and, for Harper, the creation of what Lyons called a “coffee empire,” Awakening Coffee.

“To me it can stay small, or it can get bigger, as long as you don’t lose the heart of it,” Lyons said.

“The heart is necessary,” Harper said. “Any conversation we’ve ever had with anybody, we always say that’s what it’s about. It’s community-powered, and it’s for the community.”

Harper would like to see the project expand to something like Little Libraries, which aren’t found in every neighborhood, and bring more awareness to businesses of color, with little book baskets filled with children’s books. “That’s the next phase of what we’ve been working on,” Harper said.

They’re open to partnering with organizations or groups to bring in a pop-up with books that align with and add value to an event. “It’s also important for other folks to hear and know those stories and carry those stories,” Harper added.

The three admitted they’ve taken on a lot. “We each have our own business, but this feels different when you share responsibility, and it isn’t all on you,” Lyons said with a laugh.

And with that she was off to sign up a new volunteer.

The Melanated Book Exchange has events planned for upcoming Saturdays, Aug. 15, Sept. 19, and Oct. 17, in partnership with Rebel Marketplace. For updates, visit liinks.co/melanated.book.exchange.