There’s about two dozen children running, walking and skipping through the narrow aisles of the Prairie Community Library in Cottonwood, Idaho.
Christmas music is playing.
Carissa Jones, a volunteer who runs story time, hits pause on the music. Each child runs to a numbered piece of paper taped to the floor. Jones fishes through a Cool Whip container with slips of paper inside.
“Seven!” Jones called out. “Is anybody on seven?”
A child steps forward and chooses from a stack of wrapped books. They’re handed a pool pass, too.
The “Christmas in July” event was part of the library’s ongoing celebration of its 40th anniversary.
It is perhaps an especially big accomplishment, because unlike most other libraries, the one-room Prairie Community Library is not supported by tax dollars. Instead, the independent nonprofit relies entirely on volunteers.
“ I think it's a reflection of the community's values, you know? Is there value placed on knowledge and learning?” Jones said. “I think it's really vital to the heart of a community that there is a library where we can support those things.”
Jones first started volunteering six years ago when she moved to the area, and now serves as the vice president of the library board.
Open two days a week, the library is one of just a few educational and literacy resources for Cottonwood, a town of about 900 people about an hour east of Lewiston, and many of its surrounding communities.
Coleen Wilson, treasurer of the board and a founding member, said tax-funded libraries can be a hard sell in places like Cottonwood. But residents show up for the library.
Wilson said that most of the roughly 18,000 books housed there are donated. When a flood last year required the library to move around over 17,000 books, people showed up to help. Volunteers moved out all the books and shelves, assisted with repairs and brought all the books back in.
“We cannot stand without their support, and their input, and their help,” Wilson said. “Regardless of whether it's tax-supported or not. No man is an island.”
In some places in Idaho, library work has gotten more complicated. But this little library has yet to face any complaints.
A law in Idaho allows anyone to request that a library move materials a requester considers “obscene” or “harmful to minors,” and allows citizens to sue the library if it does not comply.
At least one other Idaho library in Post Falls implemented an adults-only room to ensure compliance. The Donnelly Library, which is located in central Idaho, joined a lawsuit suing the state, alongside others, including publishing company Penguin Random House.
However, Francis Conklin, a board member, noted there may be subtle strength in libraries structured like the Prairie Community Library.
She said its small board works closely with patrons to meet an individual's needs.
“One family, the boy was an age you would think (he) would be into books, but he wasn't unless it was sports books,” Conklin said. “We realized that maybe we could fill a few more titles in there to help with that. Then, over time, realizing now he's checking out other books as well.”
Unlike some other libraries, Prairie Community Library also isn’t one where patrons are likely to be asked to quiet down. As the board members talk, adults and children alike are heard talking, laughing and playing.
“ You notice how quiet this library is?” Wilson asked with a wry grin as children chattered in the background. “That's part of it. If they enjoy it. You know, we don't have a reading room. Once in a while, we will have somebody sit back here and read something, (and) we can quiet down then. But let's make it fun.”
For several of the volunteers, empowering patrons, particularly children, is a driving force in their work.
“Knowledge is power,” Jones said. “ That's my favorite saying. But really, that's how you gain all of your knowledge and understanding, is your ability to learn. And reading is such an integral part of that.”
Another volunteer, Joan Brown, started volunteering after retiring from the Forest Service. Among other activities, she writes book reviews from the library’s selection for the Cottonwood Chronicle.
Conklin said that libraries were always a vital part of her life. She wanted to share that gift with others.
“My earliest memories were libraries,” she said. “They've been near and dear to my heart, critical in my education. I would spend hours in the library at college, and just loved it. And always knew that when I had free time, this is where I would end up.”
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