The Community Library
The Community Library is a public library in Ketchum, Idaho. The library is privately funded and open to the public. The Gold Mine Thrift Store has been a source of funding for the library since its inception. The library also operates the Wood River Museum of History and Culture, the Gold Mine Consign, and the Ernest and Mary Hemingway House and Preserve. In 2024 The Community Library received the "Library of the Year" award from the Idaho Library Association for its advocacy work for libraries during the previous State Legislative session.
The Community Library is a public library in Ketchum, Idaho. The library is privately funded and open to the public. The Gold Mine Thrift Store has been a source of funding for the library since its inception. The library also operates the Wood River Museum of History and Culture, the Gold Mine Consign, and the Ernest and Mary Hemingway House and Preserve.
In 2024 The Community Library received the "Library of the Year" award from the Idaho Library Association for its advocacy work for libraries during the previous State Legislative session.[1]
History
[edit]The Community Library Association[2] was founded in 1955 by 17 women as a non-profit organization to create a privately-funded and governed library.[3] Founders include Clara Spiegel,[3] Anita Gray[4] and Jeanne Rodger Lane.[5] The women first opened the Gold Mine Thrift Store in a log cabin to earn funds to build a library to serve Ketchum, Sun Valley, and Triumph.[6]
The first library (now the actual Gold Mine Thrift Store) was built in 1957. In 1977 the library built a new structure designed by architect Dates Fryberger to house their increasing collection, and enlarged this design again in 1986 and 1997. An award-winning[7][8] remodel by Humphries Poli Architects and Nichole Snyder Interiors was completed in 2019.
Collections and services
[edit]As of 2024, The Community Library contained 106,000 physical items from printed books to charging cables, and 46,000 digital items. Special collections include regional history archives with oral histories and early Sun Valley photographs from the Union Pacific Railroad, clothing from Mary Hemingway, Ernest Hemingway's personal book collection from the Hemingway House, the Clara Spiegel Collection, and Arion Press books.[9]
The library hosts high speed fiber Wi-Fi, accessible from inside and outside of the building. There are 12 computers for patron use with Microsoft or Apple software, along with free printing. Technical help is available for individuals with their own devices. Meeting rooms are open to the public for private booking; the sizes range from 4-25 people. The Reference Librarian handles test proctoring and research requests. The Children's department has a room with gaming computers for kids, and a teen-only lounge.
Library programs[10] include conversations with varied authors,[11][12] local interest groups,[13] a yearly Hemingway Distinguished Lecture,[14][15] and a writer-in-residence at the Hemingway House.[16]
References
[edit]- ^ "Community Library named Idaho Library of the Year". The Idaho Mountain Express. October 16, 2024. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
- ^ "ISNI 0000000405936211 Community Library". isni.oclc.org. Retrieved May 25, 2024.
- ^ a b Spiegel, Clara. "Clara Spiegel Papers, 1924-1997 ; "The Library That Faith Built"". Archives West (Box 30, Folder 13). Boise State University Library, Special Collections and Archives. Retrieved May 24, 2024.
- ^ "New home, new mission for Hemingway's house in Central Idaho". Idaho Statesman. May 23, 2017. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
- ^ "Jeanne Lane Moritz dies". Idaho Mountain Express. November 29, 2000. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
- ^ Povey, Dorothy (March 5, 1967). "Women Achieve Goal; Library Is Completed". The Times-News. Twin Falls, Idaho. Retrieved January 19, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Nicole Snyder Interiors Awards". Nicole Snyder Interiors. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
- ^ "ALA and IIDA Announce Recipients of the 2020 Library Interior Design Awards". American Library Association. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
- ^ Arion Press Finding Aid
- ^ "Community Library Programs". Wikidata. Retrieved February 12, 2025.
- ^ Library, The Community (December 27, 2024). Winter Read: "Bitter Creek" with Teow Lim Goh. Retrieved February 13, 2025 – via Vimeo.
- ^ Library, The Community (December 27, 2024). Christopher Preston. Retrieved February 13, 2025 – via Vimeo.
- ^ Library, The Community (January 6, 2025). Behind the Start Gate: World Cup Preparations with Riley Berman and Stacey Ehleringer. Retrieved February 13, 2025 – via Vimeo.
- ^ Poets, Academy of American (July 31, 2024). "Hemingway Distinguished Lecture: JOY HARJO". poets.org. Retrieved February 13, 2025.
- ^ "Hemingway Distinguished Lecture". Wikidata. Retrieved February 12, 2025.
- ^ STAFF, EXPRESS (April 28, 2023). "Hemingway House writers-in-residence to share their work". Idaho Mountain Express Newspaper. Retrieved February 13, 2025.