Library serves community and public needs
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ST. IGNATIUS — A few boys on bikes ride through the empty parking lot at St. Ignatius High School. In a few more weeks, students will once again fill the hallways and classrooms that are vacant during the summer, except for one corner building, the high school library, that also serves as a public library.
“Honestly this is the best situation you could hope for,” Daniel Thompson, public library director, said.
In 2001, the St. Ignatius Public Library merged with the high school library to ensure the public’s needs were still being met.
“Most people thought there wasn’t one (library),” Thompson said of the public library after the merger.
Thompson said now the public has access to more items and better computer equipment with the merging of the two library entities.
The library receives over $18,000 in funding each year, employs three full-time employees and has 48 computers for student and public use.
Thompson is director of the public side while Lisa Foust is in charge of the school side. Together the two run the St. Ignatius School-Community Library.
According to Thompson, a number of people use libraries to access the Internet.
Kathleen Abernathy of Phoenix, Arizona was visiting the library for that very reason. On a quiet Thursday afternoon she was one of a few people browsing the web and the book stacks.
“It’s a great service (the Internet) and a great way to get people to come to the library,” Abernathy said.
Abernathy had been in the area visiting family and friends. She wanted to look up some recipes after buying some local produce.
“I had a terrible time accessing the Internet at the home we are staying at,” Abernathy said. “This is so much nicer and I know where I can print,” she added as she walked to the front desk where Thompson was sitting.
“That will be 10 cents for each page,” he told her as he walked into the next room to retrieve the prints.
Thompson said after the economic downturn he has also noticed that more people have started to utilize the library for services such as the Internet.
Every summer for the past seven years, the library has also run a book van that delivers books to homes.
“The idea is to keep kids reading during the summer,” Thompson said.
This summer not enough families were interested and they did not have the service. According to Thompson, out of the 11 families that were interested, six were ineligible because they had overdue materials. He also explained that they have a lot of competition for local youth time with all the camps and activities also going on during the summer.
But the library is still trying to figure out ways to extend out into St. Ignatius and surrounding communities.
Thompson said they have even considered trying to create satellite libraries in Charlo and Dixon because neither town has a public library.
Thompson believes the St. Ignatius School-Community Library model is one that works well for rural communities.
“The public has access to facilities and computers that libraries our size would only dream of having,” Thompson said. “It pretty much works out great.”
