History of the Minnehaha County Rural Public Library (1960-1995)

The Minnehaha County Rural Public Library (MCRPL) was formed in 1960 when the citizens of rural Minnehaha County voted to create a taxation district to fund library service. The taxation district covered all of Minnehaha County outside of the city limits of Sioux Falls and Dell Rapids, which already had library service. The main reason for starting a library was to provide service to children attending small unconsolidated schools.

Bookmobile and Headquarters - at Hartford and Crooks (1960-present)

The library started service with a bookmobile and book collection of 7,500 items from the state library purchased with federal funds. The library was first located in the REA building in Hartford. It later moved to the old Mundt bank building, expanding to the use the entire first floor. The bookmobile was replaced in 1971 with a Gerstenslager model bookmobile. This vehicle brought books to county residents for 25 years when a new Thomas/Matthews model bookmobile was purchased. The bookmobile has always served schools, farms and neighborhoods.

The Headquarters library was moved from Hartford to a new building in Crooks in 1984 when Leonard and Janet Johnson donated land on the north side of Crooks. The bookmobile is also housed at Crooks. The Crooks Branch (formerly called the Headquarters library) is located at 900 N West Ave and is approximately 4,400 square feet.

Garretson (1971-present)

In 1971, Garretson was the first community to have a branch library. For the first year, the library operated out of the retired bookmobile which was parked in an empty lot on Main Avenue. After one year of successful service, the Garretson Branch Library moved to a room above the 1st National Bank on Main Avenue. Patrons climbed a long set of stairs to use the library. In the early 1980s, the branch library moved to 649 North Main Avenue, the former City Hall with 420 square feet. In 2007, it moved to its present location at 601 North Main Avenue. The current building is approximately 1200 square feet.

Humboldt (1971-present)

The Humboldt Branch Library opened on May 21, 1971. The Community Bank allowed it to use one of their offices one afternoon a week. It had 200 books in a bookcase donated by Orlando Voelker. A few months later it was moved to the Town Hall where it shared space with the Town Board and the firemen. The Humboldt Sunshine Club helped the branch with storytime and parties for children. Shelves were made by Allen Talbott and David Dancison from materials donated by The Farmers Elevator Co. and the C & K Hardware. In October 1980, the library moved to the Medical Building where it was more visible and had more space for books. The collection grew to 3,000 books. Circulation grew from 2,000 in 1972 to 7,019 in 1987. In August 1993, the library moved back to the Town Hall building (a pump house) when the medical office was torn down to be replaced by a Community Center. The Community Center houses the current branch library and opened in Fall 1994. The collection is now over 6,000 items.

Colton (1972-present)

The Colton Branch Library opened in May 1972 as the Colton Bookshelf. It shared a building at 307 East 4th Street with the Colton City Hall; the library had 1/3 of the building (100 sq. ft)and City Hall had 2/3. In 1999 the branch library moved to its current location at 323 East 4th Street. The new location is over 400 square feet.

Valley Springs (1973-present)

The Valley Springs Branch library opened in 1973 in the back of the fire department building. It shared space with the City of Valley Springs finance officer. In 2006, the library moved to its current location at 401 Broadway Ave. It continues to share the building with the City of Valley Springs.

Wayne Township (1973-1984)

MCRPL operated a branch library in the Wayne Township Firestation on the west edge of Sioux Falls. It was open 10 hours a week. When the Headquarters library moved to Crooks and the Hartford/West Central Branch opened, the Wayne Township library was closed.

Baltic (1973-present)

The Baltic Branch Library opened in 1974. It shared space with the Baltic City finance officer in the Council meeting room at the Baltic Firestation. In 1982, the finance officer moved to a new location and the library space was refurbished. It now held 2,000 volumes and was open 8 hours a week. The library moved to its current location on St. Olaf Avenue in January 1990. The current collection size is 5,000 volumes.

Brandon (1975-present)

The Brandon Community Library was founded in 1975 as a “Bookshelf” library in the Brandon city hall. Minnehaha County provided the staffing and books, the Lions Club provided the shelving, and the city of Brandon provided the space. It was open 6 hours a week. In 1981, the library moved to 109 North Pipestone and the hours were expanded to 10 a week. This building gave the library over 600 square feet. As Brandon grew, the number of hours the library was open increased to 21 ½ hours a week and then to 36 hours a week in 2002. In 2001 the Brandon Mom's Club initiated discussion between Siouxland Libraries, the City of Brandon and the Brandon Valley School District. A new joint public-high school library was built in 2002. The new facility opened in 2003 as the Brandon Community Library. It is open 54 hours a week during the school year and 51 hours a week during the summer.

Hartford - West Central Branch Library (1984-present)

In 1984, Minnehaha County Rural Public Library, the City of Hartford and the West Central School District signed an agreement to open a joint library at the West Central High School. The first joint library was located in the old high school building. In 1994, the West Central School District built a new high school. The Hartford - West Central Branch Library moved to the new high school into a 1,764 square feet facility in the summer of 1994.

In 2007, the School District renovated their school campus. As a result, the library moved to a new location on the north edge of the school. The 3,400 square foot facility has a number of improvements including its own parking lot for the public (shared with the school administration), an outside entrance, and a larger children’s area. In addition, the branch library now serves the middle school and the high school as well as the public.