Rural Idaho library district redefines its role in the community through innovative children’s programs, services, and local history.
Story and photos by Norma Staaf
In the tiny rural town of Weippe, Idaho, the Clearwater County Free Library District’s library and discovery center serves 1,000 area residents plus visitors.
The library’s story began nearly 70 years ago when an Orofino librarian provided 60 books to Lowell Crouser to circulate from her Weippe home. The library has relocated several times, previously occupying a former jail and a Civilian Conservation Corps barracks before settling in its present location, a former church.
The current building and the historical interpretive displays were developed in advance of the 2005 Bicentennial commemoration of the 1805 Lewis and Clark Corps of Discovery expedition. The building is situated on the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, where the expedition left the Clearwater Mountains and met the Nez Perce (Nimiipuu), who traditionally gathered there.
Library Director Terri Summerfield and a team of 4 staff members operate the library 6 days a week. An active Friends of the Library group and a 5-member library board help with fundraising, budgeting, and developing new ideas.
The library district’s motto, “Think outside the book,” reimagines how a library can serve its community.
“If you’re just going to provide books, your days are numbered,” Terri says.
Board member Robert Meade echoes that purpose.
“We have a service mindset,” he says. The Friends are instrumental in completing projects and volunteering their time to improve the community. They also manage donations, including the Durant Estate endowment funds.
The team also works to change the stigma of libraries as quiet places.
“We’re not a ‘shush’ library,” Terri says. “We’re a place to have fun.”
The library offers programming for people of all ages, with an emphasis on children.
A 6-week summer reading program focuses on kindergarten through fifth graders, helping children avoid the “summer slide” in reading skills by encouraging reading for fun. This summer’s theme, “Sage, the Herding Dog,” focuses on working dogs. The schedule includes guest speakers appearing with a military dog, a service dog, and a herding dog.
The library forges partnerships with local community groups and schools, such as Head Start. Through participation in the My First Books program, the library can give out free children’s books.
Cynthia Tews, from the Friends group, values the partnership with the Idaho Youth Challenge Academy, a high school in nearby Pierce. The library brought in 12 to 15 cadets who had never fished. Showing them how to tie fishing flies, giving each a fly rod, and teaching them to fish at Deyo Reservoir has been a success, Cynthia says.
The library still offers traditional print books, local newspapers, magazines, and DVDs, as well as nontraditional items. Although streaming has replaced DVDs in larger cities, the lack of fast and affordable internet service in the Weippe area keeps DVDs in high demand.
Through the Idaho Digital Consortium, the library shares digital books, magazines, and audiobooks with 11 other libraries and districts.
The construction of the 52-acre Deyo Reservoir in 2011 created new recreation opportunities about 4 miles from Weippe. In response, the library added kayaks and paddleboards to its lending options to help more people enjoy the lake. The library also loans out snowshoes and pickleball paddles, and nets.
People outside the library taxing district can buy a temporary card for $50 a year, with $25 refundable, allowing them to borrow library items.
Library services include a computer lab, laptops, and free, 24-hour wireless internet access. Visitors can reserve a private room for telehealth appointments, attorney meetings, and other personal meetings. Copying, faxing, laminating, notary public, and UPS dropoff services are available.
The large community space in the basement, which includes a kitchen, hosts arts and crafts nights, family game nights, fly-tying, and a Valentine’s Day dinner for couples.
The community room includes interpretive displays and books about the Lewis and Clark journey. The story continues outside with a trail through native vegetation with plants tied to Lewis and Clark journal entries. Plans to pave the trail will extend the season and make it more accessible.
The library supplements local tax money with grants from the Idaho Commission for Libraries and other sources. A grant from the commission funded the installation of a generator, an outdoor laptop bar with charging stations, and new railing on the wraparound covered porch. With the addition of the generator, the library can continue to provide Wi-Fi, cell service, electricity to charge devices, and shelter during power outages. This is important for first responders, residents, and visitors.
In 2011, the library received the prestigious National Medal for Museum and Library Service Award from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The $10,000 award was used to transform a former closet into a cozy reading alcove complete with armchairs, a laptop bar, and a self-serve coffee station.
Last month, Terri received an Idaho Esto Perpetua Award presented by the Idaho State Historical Society.
According to the historical society, the award honors those whose work ensures Idaho’s rich history is preserved, shared, and celebrated for generations to come.
Twenty years after the 2005 celebration of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, Weippe Discovery Center is 1 of 2 legacy sites that continue to tell the Lewis and Clark Trail story in Idaho.
After 34 years with the library, Terri still loves her role at CCFLD, which she views as her calling.
“God put me here,” she says. “I’m just doing the work.”