Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
The Eddy- New Rockford Public Library is gearing up with a new board of directors and an ongoing list of upcoming projects. On Aug. 29, the board met together for the first time and held an election for positions. According to the requirements of the North Dakota Century Code 40-38-03, the board shall consist of five members and one member must be a city commissioner. Patty Gerhtz was elected president. Kathy Steinbach was elected as vice president. Rachel Brazil was elected to continue her position as secretary/treasurer. Additional directors include Jennifer Baumbach and newly appointed city commissioner Justin Ystass.
In agreement with the mission of the Eddy-New Rockford Library to connect people with information, ideas, and experience and provide lifelong learning for our community, the board will continue to support librarian Susie Sharp in the pursuit of projects including the installment of new and comfortable furniture.
The board has approved the purchase of armchairs with retractable media trays, and additional shelving, chairs and tables will be purchased in the months to come.
The furniture will be purchased with funds awarded by the New Rockford Community Foundation and donated by Bank Forward, the New Rockford High School Class of 1962 and memorial donations in the name of DeVon Allmaras, as she served on the board for many years and advocated for the installation of more appropriate seating within the library. Additional funds will be sought out as needed through fundraisers and donations.
The library has been in its current location for 10 years, and the classroom style seating has been around much longer than that. Librarian Susie Sharp says, “We have people come into the library with their own devices and sit in these hard chairs all day, and we would like to make that more comfortable for our patrons.”
Another upgrade coming to the library is the expansion of wireless internet services. Thanks to the North Dakota Library Coordinating Council and the North Dakota State Library, a new state-of-the-art router will make the library’s free Wi-Fi more accessible and more reliable. “We have many people that use our wireless internet daily and this router will make that connection much better for our patrons. The library is always trying to keep up with the times to serve our community in the ways it needs,” noted Sharp.
Sharp has served as the librarian since 2007 and has made great strides in building connections statewide with other libraries, the North Dakota Coordinating Council and the North Dakota Library Association. “I look forward to working on the furniture and shelving project with our new board. Whenever you get new people on the board, they always bring fresh ideas and outlooks. The library is always striving to put the needs of community at the forefront of our planning, and I hope everyone will be happy with the changes we are making,” Sharp said.
Eddy- New Rockford Public Library is open to the public and free to use Mon. 12-6 p.m. and Tues. – Fri. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Virtual collections such as Overdrive are accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For more information, contact Eddy- New Rockford Public Librarian Susie Sharp at (701) 947-5540.
