Betise Valley District Library

Library Showcase:

Candy hearts are fun to pass around during the Valentine’s season. They have printed phrases such as; “Be mine”, “True love”, “Too cute”, “Your mine”. The phrases are meant to show the recipient that they are loved. The Betsie Valley District Library in Thompsonville gives out little hearts in the form of friendly and warm service all year around to their patrons. The library is the “The Little Library with the big heart.”

The customer focused library is one of the few public buildings in their town and is the community center for town activities. The library is located in the same building as the Weldon Township Offices and is painted the cheerful color of red on the outside. The cheerful look is continued on the inside which is colorful and bright. A puppet theatre, purchased through a grant, is located in the children’s room area and the smiles on the faces of the staff members make it a welcome place to visit.

Every member of the family can feel like they “fit in” at the library. Teens come to the library to do homework, play on the computer, and talk with friends after school each day. Because of their teen patrons the library is looking into offering organized teen activities and programs along with the other programs they offer.

For adults, there is an adult book club, a Crochet club that meets each week, and a newly formed Friends of the Library Group. Despite their new formation the FOL group has already raised $3,000 from a silent auction. Gathering of Friends, which was a silent auction included cocktails and hors d’oeuvres. The FOL have donated the funds to the library so that they can purchase an additional computer and computer workstation. The Friend’s next fundraiser will take place the first weekend October 6 th 7 th and 8 th. The event is a the Betsie Valley Run and involves four events – Saturday events are a child’s walk or run mile and a 5K walk which will take place on the Crystal Mountain Resort property. On Sunday a10K and ½ marathon are planned which will start at the Crystal Mountain Resort and then utilize the newly done Benzie Valley Trail. Through entrance fees, the FOL group hopes to raise a significant amount of money for the library. In place of entrance fees children participating will have pledge cards. The event is a community event and is being held at a time when the fall colors of Benzie County are at their peek. An experienced runner, Kyle Fitzpatrick is spearheading the organization of the event, and has already posted the event on several running websites. More details will be finalized in the coming months and organizers and hoping to have a large group of supporters for the event.

For the library’s patrons that are not old enough to participate in teen and adult groups, they have the Summer Reading Program. Last summer the libraries in Benzie County coordinated a joint Summer Reading Program which was organized by volunteer Helen Dewey. Helen asked county businesses for donations and support. The result, a coupon book for children that participated in the program that was redeemable at Benzie County businesses. Two programs where hosted by the library in conjunction with the Reading Program; Joann Schroeder from Bear Lake did a 45 minute program that included storytime and crafts. She brought the material for the crafts and her fee was just $50.00 for the presentation. Ranger Kim with the Interlochen State Park presented a free program for kids that was well attended. This summer the library and the others libraries in Benzie county plan on operating their summer Reading program much the same as last’s years because of the tremendous success they had with it.

Current funding prevents the library from reaching their goals of being open full time and of having a bigger facility. The Director, Michelle Guerra and library assistant Stacy have a big heart and have already reached one of their goals, ensuring that the library is a warm, friendly place to visit. The board and staff work hard to live up to their slogan of being the, “The little library with the big heart.” We salute the Betsie Valley District Library for all they have done for their community and are proud to have them as a member of the Mid-Michigan Library League.

Mid-Michigan Library League- 210 1/2 N. Mitchell- Cadillac, MI 49601
Phone: 800-968-0046 Fax: 800-968-3297

Website design: Holly Mercer
Last Update: March 29, 2007