Thief River Falls Public Library

Infobox_nrhp | name =Thief River Falls Public Library
nrhp_type =

---

caption = The original library building
location= Thief River Falls, Minnesota
lat_degrees = 48
lat_minutes = 7
lat_seconds = 2
lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 96
long_minutes = 10
long_seconds = 51
long_direction = W
locmapin = Minnesota
area =
built =1914
architect= Lutz,Joseph C.
architecture= No Style Listed
added = October 06, 1983
governing_body = Local
refnum=83003763cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=2008-04-15|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service]

Friends of the Library historical documents place our story in the year 1900, only twenty years after the first permanent settler homesteaded on the present site of Thief River Falls, Minnesota. The surrounding farmland and logging attracted settlers which presented opportunities for a town to develop.

The Thief River Falls Library began to sprout when a few publicly spirited wives of civic leaders decided that a book collection was needed for everyone to use. These ladies banded a group together to form the first library board. They raised monies, for a small collection of books, which were then housed in the first library -- a storefront on 2nd Street which was provided rent-free. In the spring of 1902, a small one-story annex was built for the library on the north side of the old City Fire Hall at the corner of First Street and Main Avenue. Mr. L.G. Browning was hired as the first librarian that year at the salary of $14 a month.

In 1906, the library became an official separate department of the City of Thief River Falls. When the city moved to its current location, the library also moved and was located in a large room in the basement. As the library grew, it was evident it needed more space. In 1914, the Carnegie Library was built in Thief River Falls and dedicated on May 12, 1915. The Carnegie Library provided the library with a children’s section.

Mrs. Hazel Halgrim, the librarian from 1912-1913, again assumed the librarianship in 1925 and remained in the position until 1953. During this time, she implemented county outreach library service. This became a model for the state. In 1929, Pennington County became the eleventh Minnesota County to receive library service. Mrs. Halgrim became so well respected among librarians in the state, that they first elected her secretary, then president, of the Minnesota Library Association.

Another beloved Thief River Falls librarian became known as Miss Library. Frances Shanahan became the TRF librarian in 1953 and served until her death in 1965. Named one of the three 1962 Outstanding Women of Thief River Falls by the Business and Professional Women's Club, Miss Shanahan would not live to see her two dreams-a new library, and regionalization of library services -- come to completion.

As time moved on it became apparent that the Carnegie Library was crowded and the building was in need of repairs. It was in 1966, that the library moved to its present location across the street from the Carnegie Library, which still houses the library today. The original building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

In 1968, Pennington and Red Lake counties banded together to form the Northwest Regional Library system and established the Thief River Falls Public Library as its headquarters library. The regional system helped the TRF Public Library expand its resources through interlibrary loan services, savings from bulk purchases, savings from a centralized processing and administrative staff and much more.

In 1991, during the library's 90th anniversary celebration week, the TRF Public Library automated its circulation system. In late 1994, Internet access was added. During the 90th anniversary celebration, the library board noted a number of other changes that had occurred: the library had gone from a start-up collection of 200 books to over 55,000 books in that time frame. It had also increased the formats it offered from books only to books, newspapers, magazines, videos, audios, CDs and DVDs.

The library continues to grow and develop, always keeping an eye on the original purpose of the library -- to provide informational, educational and recreational opportunities to all.

Organization

As described above the Thief River Falls Library is part of the Northwest Regional Library (NWRL) System. NWRL was established, in October of 1968, to coordinate existing public library services and to develop service where none existed. The system serves the counties of Kittson, Marshall, Pennington, Red Lake and Roseau.

NWRL is a non-profit organization governed by a Board of Trustees. Each board member is appointed by the Boards of County Commissioners and Councils of the municipalities making up NWRL. The power of the Board of Trustees has been granted by relevant Minnesota Statutes with the provision that such power over member libraries exists only when stipulated in contract agreements with those libraries.

NWRL has grown from a system serving only the Thief River Falls and Red Lake Falls Libraries to the present seven libraries. It was the third system to form in the state of Minnesota. NWRL acts as a single library with one administrative and technical services headquarters. The city of Thief River Falls, as the only urban population in the five counties, was designated as the NWRL headquarters. The headquarters was located in the Thief River Falls Library until its revocation in 2005, when it moved to a storefront location just blocks away.

The NWRL Director is chief administrative officer of the NWRL and is hired by the NWRL Board. The director acts in advisory capacity to the NWRL Board to recommend programs, polices, and changes; prepares agenda for and attends all board meeting, and has a right to speak on all matters under discussion. The director is not a member of the board and therefore has no vote. The director is responsible for preparations of the annual request for funds, for the presentation of that request to the signatory county boards and councils, and for the expenditure of funds granted. The director has full responsibility for determining internal policies and procedures, and for the complete discharge of all duties imposed upon the position by law or by regulations of the board of directors. At the moment, we have one cataloger that catalogs all of the materials for NWRL. In 2005, she cataloged 9,867 materials. Metadata for many of the books is purchased through outside sources; if it is not already in our catalog. There is a part-time library associate who assists at the headquarters cataloging books that have not been covered, typing, and other miscellaneous tasks.

The Inter-Library Associate is responsible for processing incoming/outgoing interlibrary loans of library materials, referencing requests, and organizing the delivery of these materials. This includes sorting the materials that are exchanged with the neighboring library system, and the Minnesota statewide system.

The Library Administrative Assistant’s role could be described as an Assistant Director. The position includes meeting the needs of branch librarians and, at times, acting as a liaison between the branches and the director. This position needs to be very versatile as their tasks vary from accounting to delivery. The Thief River Falls Library is also guided by an eight member advisory council. This council meets monthly with the Thief River Falls Library Supervisor to discuss and advise the library in current matters. The council is made up of community business, political, educational, and parochial leaders appointed by the NWRL director. The members are instrumental in advising the library of the community needs, activities, and overall status.

The structure of the Thief River Falls Library consists of a library supervisor, circulation manager, library associates, and pages. The library supervisor requires an MLIS and works closely with the director. Together, they appoint new members of the staff, make promotions and transfers, assign duties, set customer service standards, and organize staff development. They are jointly responsible for orientation and in-service standards, employee counseling, investigation and adjustment of complaints, working conditions, and staff welfare. The Thief River Falls Library supervisor also manages the Thief River Falls Library and NWRL programming, publicity, and customer satisfaction.

The circulation manager position requires a four year degree. This position oversees the library circulation tasks, the public use of the library’s collection, and the staff performing those duties. This is a new position which has redistributed duties throughout the Thief River Falls Library. With this position, the Thief River Falls Library manager now assists directly with NWRL programming and publicity.

Library associates perform the daily activities of the library and assist in programming and other duties for one area of the library such as children’s or young adults.

References

External links

* [http://www.nwrlib.org/trf.htm Thief River Falls Public Library Website]