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The South Dakota town of Chamberlain sits on the Lewis and Clark trail, at the crossing of the Missouri River and Interstate 90.  In addition to serving the town’s 2,400 residents, Chamberlain’s Cozard Memorial Library has a total service population of 20,641, drawn from four counties and two Lakota Sioux reservations, in addition to the many travelers who visit the area for its excellent hunting and fishing, the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center, the South Dakota Hall of Fame, and other attractions.  The driving force behind the development of the area was W.G. Cozard, who came West from Missouri to manage the Wells Fargo office, stayed on as owner of the Chamberlain Wholesale, and became one of the region’s most prosperous men.  After making his fortune, Cozard wanted to give something back to the community.  Among his philanthropic initiatives was the establishment of a $1 million trust fund for the creation and maintenance of a new library.  Though he passed away shortly before the building was completed in 1973, his gift is an enduring legacy that continues to provide the library with stability and resources.

The library was fortunate to have such a reliable and solid source of funding, and through the early 90’s that all worked very well.  But stock market downturns in the early 1990’s forced the library to turn to the City of Chamberlain for the first time to request funds to make up the shortfall.  Since current director Carol Stricherz started her tenure in 1998, she’s been able to make use of her relationships with town decision makers–as well as having statistics on hand to demonstrate the steadily increasing usage of the library–to become a successful advocate for the library.  In this way the library has made the crucial transition from complete dependence on the trust to a more healthy balance between multiple sources of funding: the city of Chamberlain (with significant contributions from the nearby municipality of Oacoma) and the original trust.  This broader base of support makes the library less vulnerable to the fluctuations of the stock market and helps it overcome the limitations that go with living on a fixed income.

Carol is not shy about seeking additional funding when it’s needed.  Though the library had been adding barcodes to books since the mid-80s, creating a fully automated system required additional funds.  Originally she’d developed a three-year plan to gradually phase in automation.  But one of her board members encouraged her to make that gradual approach “plan B”: why not ask for the whole sum at once?  With the help of substantial contributions from Chamberlain and Oacoma, the automation project was completed—with just one round of funding.

Carol, the library’s self-described “techy person,” carefully planned for the expected arrival of Gates Foundation-granted computers, establishing a three-year technology plan that culminated with the installation of the library’s Gates public computer and content server.

Funding for additional programming (such as children’s programs) comes from other sources, like the donation jar at the front desk.  Partnerships have been helpful, too: the local genealogical society, so dependent on the library’s holdings for its work, donated a substantial sum to purchase a new microfilm printer to provide better access to the library’s collection of historic newspapers.

Another tool Carol uses to address funding needs and maintain good community relations is a weekly column, “Comments from Cozard,” in the local paper.  With this “bully pulpit,” she not only informs the community about new books and other library resources, but she can also put out requests for particular donations that are needed (even something as simple as 150 plastic lids for a summer reading program) and publicize programs like children’s storytime or the popular “road-reading” books on tape and CD—essential for the long and lonely South Dakota highway miles.

Good customer service is another hallmark of the library.  Hmm, do you think this might have something to do with the fact that both Carol and Jo Blankley, the other full-time library employee, have backgrounds in retail?  The rule of thumb is “the patron always comes first.”  Whether it’s tracking down a poem from a half-remembered line (and not necessarily the first line!), delivering books to shut-ins, or checking a resident’s email for them, the Cozard staff makes taking care of customer needs its top priority.

You can reach Cozard Memorial Library director Carol Stricherz at Cozard Memorial Library by sending email to carole@midstatesd.net.

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