Books Are the Bridges to Your Imaginations!
The Bison Public library was organized in 1998, by the Perkins County Literacy Council. There was no public library in Bison at that time, and a survey taken revealed a need and want for one. At first the library was established as a volunteer library and was housed in the north side of on old empty building on Main Street. Money for expenses was raised through fund-raising and donation. In 2000, library board trustees approached the town board about taking the library in as a line item on their budget. Town board members finally agreed to do so and appropriated the library a budget of $6,000 per year. A part time librarian was then hired for 15 hours per week. In May of 2001, the building the library was in was condemned and the library shut down. In September of that same year, the library board persuaded the board of directors from Earl's Bison Museum to let the library move into their building temporarily. At the end of 2006, the entire library board resigned as a sign tot he Town Board they were tired of constantly asking for money and the Town Board members would not give in nor were they helping find a new home for the library. From January 2007 through June, there was no library board the librarian could no longer continue without one. In July, a new library board was appointed by the Town Board and continues now to be the trustees of the library. The library has proven to be an asset to the town of Bison by providing a variety of projects to the public such as:
* Summer Reading Programs
*Artist in Residence Programs (one was teaching children to work with pottery; one was children painting a mural on the east side of an old hardware store in Main Street.)
*Book discussion groups
*Story time for children ages birth to 5 years
*Provides three computers free for public use, connected with DSL Internet speed
*Sponsored a Lewis & Clark traveling exhibit
*Sponsored an author talk
*Sponsors a book fair every 6 weeks September through May for the public to purchase good books at a reasonable cost and the library earns free books
*Participates in a Parade of Trees in the county courthouse
*Sponsored "Read Across SD With Arthur" for children, through program from the State LibraryCurrently the library serves a radius of 30 miles around Bison, has just under 200 registered patrons who use the library; has a direct link to the State Library for research and Inter Library Loans; has received close to 400 new children's books through grants; receives a variety of magazine subscriptions as gifts; has over 1,500 volumes on hand for reading and listening; has a variety of movies and audio books; has a certified librarian on hand. Although the library does not have a book budget, book donations come in from all over the area and some from out of state.
The library is governed by the Town of Bison and has a Board of Trustees:
John Blosmo- President
Vi Leonard- Vice President
Heidi Kopren- Treasurer
James Sandgren-Representative from the Town Board
Brenda Kari-Resource
Sara Juergens- Resource
Jan Gossman- Librarian/Secretary for the Trustees
Hours:
Tuesday; Wednesday; Thursday: 1-6 PM
How to contact us:
Bison Public Library
PO Box 130
300 W Carr St.
Bison, SD 57620
(605)244-7252
bispblib@sdplains.com