Pine River Library: A Library Built by the Community

The Pine River Library was selected as the Library Journal's Best Small Library of 2014.  The library serves just under 9,000 people in the community of Bayfield, CO.  The library staff has developed many unique ways to meet the needs of their community.

Through partnerships with a local firm called Southwest Ag,  BP, and dozens of volunteers, the library was able to build a 17,000 square foot outdoor space featuring a community garden, greenhouse, fruit orchard, and five outdoor learning areas.  The library offers classes in cooking, canning, and preserving the food people grow.

Another focus of the library is technology.  The PRL has a technology-lending program which allows patrons to borrow laptops, ereaders, GPS devices, tablets, MP3 players, and video cameras.  There are 50 devices total with a circulation of more than 1,000 annually. Through this program, library patrons are able to try devices before they buy them, and it allows the PRL to increase the circulation of its digital materials. There are a number of technology classes offered through the library.

The local school district, the Bayfield School District, has monthly late start days in grades K-5 for teacher development.  During those late start days, the librarians go to the school and provide a story time for the students while the teachers are in training.

The library offers many programs, including exercise classes, free movies (Bayfield has no movie theater), movies on an outdoor screen, a free babysitter training course offered through the American Red Cross, and a focus on programming for teens, including a monthly event with music, games, and activities for teens in grades 6-12.  The library is open 62 hours a week spread over all seven days.

It is clear that the Pine River Library serves as a hub of its rural community.  I feel this is important for any library, but especially a rural library in a community which does not have as many resources and opportunities as a more populous area.  The library staff are willing to move outside the walls of the library to reach out to community members and find out what they need and how the library may best meet those needs through community partnerships.