00:00:12,480	S1:
Welcome to Bismarck Insights with mayor Mike Schmitz, a transparent and engaging conversational dive into meaningful topics impacting local government in Bismarck, North Dakota. Bismarck Insights is dedicated to removing barriers between the city of Bismarck and the citizens we serve every day.

00:00:33,360	S2:
Welcome to Bismarck Insights with myself, mayor Mike Schmitz. Today we're focusing on the Bismarck Veterans Memorial Library, and we have Christine Kuwabara with us. And I know I didn't probably pronounce that entirely properly. I apologize, but Christine, tell me a little bit how you got started with the library and your career.

00:00:54,640	What brought you here? S3:
Sure. So I actually started in libraries in the Grand Forks area. That's where I grew up. So I worked in public libraries and the law library at Und, and at some point my mentors there said, you should really think about graduate school. So I moved to Illinois and I pursued my studies in library and information science. And when I was getting toward the end of that, I was looking at places that were hiring within driving distance to my parents who live in Grand Forks and Bismarck was hiring. So I interviewed successfully there and started in 2003. And I've I've been there ever since. And it's just worked out that throughout the years there have been openings. So I started as the head of circulation services, and then I moved to um, assistant director for about a year. And then after that, the the director position opened and I took over that. And I've been in that position, I think it's been about eight years now.

00:01:52,640	S2:
And it's kind of a unique position. There aren't a lot of opportunities necessarily to be the library director for a library, especially in North Dakota, probably.

00:02:02,240	S3:
No, no. I feel very fortunate that my career path has taken the the path that it has. Um, actually, when I when I was in Illinois, my plan was to continue to work in academic libraries, and I got the job here, and I really only planned on staying for a couple of years, but I just I love this the city so much and working in a public setting, working with the citizens that I'm still there and plan to be into the future.

00:02:31,200	S2:
Well it's wonderful. Well, let's talk a little bit about the difference between maybe an educational library and our public library. What are the differences you see? And certainly the patrons are probably different as well.

00:02:42,720	S3:
Well, for instance, in an academic library, that is their purpose is mainly to serve their students, the faculty. In the case of the law library, when I worked there, that was specific to all of the law instructors and the students are preparing to become lawyers but at a public library. That facility is open to everyone in the community, and I really do think of the public library as an equalizer in the community. Um, everyone pays their share through property taxes to fund the general operations of the facility, but beyond that, it's open to anyone who comes in our doors. Everyone has the same access to information and our services. So it's just it's a wonderful service to offer.

00:03:28,120	S2:
So how long has our library been in Bismarck and what was the genesis of it?

00:03:34,160	S3:
Um, so plans for a public library started in the late 1800s. We were one of the last cities in the state to have a public library. It actually started thanks to a small group of pioneer women who thought, we need a library in our city, just like Grand Forks and Fargo. So they started their own little library, and then following that, the Chamber of Commerce took over. So the first reading room in our city was actually housed by the Chamber of Commerce. So we have a history with them. Um, so that was downtown. And then between them and some other citizens in our city, they were in contact with Andrew Carnegie and his team, and they received a $25,000 grant to build our first library, which opened in around 1917, 1918. And if you can believe it, cost only around the $25,000 to to build a library back then. But that was wonderful. And it was with the stipulation that moving forward, local government would continue to support the library with the ongoing operations which it has to this day. And it wasn't too long after that that they grew out of that space. And they built, um, the building which currently stands and the the entrance was on Avenue A, and that was in the early 60s, and one of my favorite stories from that time frame is from Betty Mills, who many people in our community know. She was on the board at that time, and she was friends with one of the local grocery stores, the owner, and he provided them with grocery carts, and they loaded up all of the books in the collection at the Thayer Street location, and they just walked back and forth between the two and unloaded them, loaded them up, got them on the shelves, and that's how they moved the collection over. So I just I love that story. And again, as the city continued to grow, so did services in the library. And then they built on to that building in the mid 1980s. And that gives us the building we have now with the entrance on fifth Street.

00:05:50,400	S2:
That's where we turn the entrance at that time. And have we had any major improvements to the structure Internally since the remodel. Back in the 80s.

00:06:01,840	S3:
Oh, we've had several. So, um, I want to say it's been about 5 or 6 years. We were able to replace our roof. Um, and these projects were all, um, initially done in the 1980s. So it was definitely time for these projects. So the roof and then, um, during the pandemic, um, we utilized that time when we were closed to update the library's HVAC controls, Vav boxes and all of that which desperately needed to be done. And then just about two years ago, we were able to completely update the library siding. Um, it needed to be sealed. We had some issues with water coming through and things like that. Um, and it's just beautiful. Um, other updates, um, internally include, um, just the end of last year, a little bit at the beginning of this year, thanks to an anonymous donation, we are able to completely repaint the main floor. And one of the comments I received this past spring, which just tickled all of us, was that someone took the time a citizen and took the time to call and tell me that they had not been in the library for a while with the pandemic and everything, and they came in and they were just blown away by how beautiful the library looks on the outside and inside. And they said, it feels like we have a big city library, and we just all thought that was the best comment.

00:07:28,120	S2:
That's wonderful. So, you know, obviously history is moving along and print was a big issue early on. Still is to some degree. And the library certainly houses lots of printed material.

00:07:48,760	But have we seen a change because of digital formatting? And how is that affecting your job and the job of the library itself? S3:
You know, we have some, um, when we were closed in 2020, uh, people missed being able to come in the library, and they wanted something, I think, to just normalize their lives during that period. And a lot of people who are not familiar with our digital collection became very familiar with it and utilized that during that time and have continued to. So that is getting we're seeing much more use with that. And of course, with digital material that's more expensive than the print. So we're trying to balance that out. But honestly, I'd say according to our circulation statistics, about two thirds of that is for our print material. So our community is still very much print book community.

00:08:31,290	S2:
And I find that in my real life, too, I think there's still a lot of face to face, and people want to have something to hold and read when they read it. Certainly we're moved away from that, but it's good to know that we have both options available and how how do people check those out then if it's digital versus print.

00:08:54,050	S3:
So we have two different services and each one has an app. You just need to download your app and have your library card number. And then you're set up and you can go through the collection and choose what you want to check out. Whether it's an e-book or an audiobook, the digital audiobooks are really popular because you can use those, um, you know, if you're exercising, doing things around the house, traveling. So those get checked out a lot. Um, so you just check it out and it's available on your device, and then it automatically checks in. So you don't need to worry about that. And of course, we don't have overdue fines anymore. So you don't need to worry about that. So it's a great service.

00:09:31,050	S2:
Let's talk about that because that was a pretty recent change. The overdue fines, what we've done there and why we did that.

00:09:37,010	S3:
We had been thinking about that for a few years, but we just weren't sure if we were ready to take that step. Um, that was a big step for us. But, um, again, during the pandemic, we felt that it was only fair that if we're not open, we're not going to charge anyone, and it didn't seem right to do so anyway. Um, so that was kind of our trial period to see how that would go. And it actually it went just fine. There were no negatives to that. Um, we were able to recoup the little bit of funding we got from our overdue fines from other areas in our budget. Um, and again, as an equalizer in the community, it just makes sense that people not have to pay overdue fines for books that they're paying for us to have in their collection. Now, if someone never returns an item, they will be charged the cost of that. But people don't need to worry about overdue fines. And that's especially important, um, for for our citizens who are in low income bracket. Um, we've had people who told us before they didn't even want to use a library because they were afraid of having those fines. So now they don't have that barrier.

00:10:38,290	S2:
Yeah. So so we took down the walls. And that's a great thing, especially being a public library. We're there to serve the general community at large anyway. So you know, the the city commission, the city is who the library is a part of. But you have another board of trustees.

00:11:04,250	And how does that interact with the city and with you and what's their role? S3:
So there is a section in North Dakota state code, century code, I believe it's chapter 38. Um, and it's specific to, um, establishing and organizing a public library. So within that it allows for a governing board. So we have the city Commission, which is mainly in charge of establishing our mill rate year to year for our funding, and then approving the board of trustees that the names that are brought forward to join our board. And we have a five person board, they're all volunteers. They have to live in Bismarck and they they are in charge of, um, supervising me, hiring the director, um, reviewing finances and improving finances month to month, reviewing and approving the budget that goes forward to the the commission every year. And then a step down would be me. And then I, along with all of my team, um, run the library and we provide reports to the board about what's going on with the library and then as well to the the commission. So everybody is in the loop on that.

00:12:17,850	S2:
Okay. So they work well together, I assume. Yes, it's my observation anyway. And it does give, I guess, a little breach or break from the city Commission being that direct oversight of those policies, which would be which would be like micromanaging, and we wouldn't want that happening. So I think that's a that's a great thing. However, as you mentioned, the funding generally comes from tax revenue. Yes, property tax revenue as collected in the city of Bismarck.

00:12:57,650	How does that affect or do you feel that we're okay with that funding? Is are we adequate with what we need to be able to provide our citizens? S3:
Yes, the funding is adequate at this point in time. We're very fortunate to to have the support from the city. The majority of our funding does come from property tax dollars. We do receive some funding from the state through their state distribution fund. And then also there's special funding, state aid to public libraries. So that's just for public libraries. And that gets divvied out amongst all of the libraries. As long as you qualify for it. And then again that's based on um, the, the state code that I mentioned earlier. Okay.

00:13:32,370	S2:
Um, let's talk about some programs and services that the library offers. Um, what are what do you see are some of the big things that that are really helpful. And you see interaction with our general citizens and maybe kids in particular.

00:13:46,250	S3:
Oh, gosh, there are so many. Um, I'm just going to highlight some of my favorites. So, um, just starting with kids, we have, uh, suite of programs and events that are going on all the time. We have storytimes for all ages. Right now, we're in the middle of our summer reading program. And what's neat about this year is that the the theme is all together now. So we're making it community centric. So normally kids will read and based on the number of pages they read throughout the summer. Um, they may receive some incentive small incentive prizes, which is exciting for them. But this year, instead of giving them prizes, they're giving stickers and they can put them on a big bill, uh, like a billboard type thing we have in the library. And there I want to say maybe 5 or 6 different nonprofits in our community, and they put the sticker on the one that they want to receive a prize. So instead of it being something that goes directly to the child, it's instilling a sense of volunteerism. Um, working with your community and giving back. So even at a young age.

00:14:50,730	S2:
So I think it's a great quality to instill.

00:14:53,810	S3:
It is. Yes. We also have, um, Miss Sparkles Kindness Club, which is one of my favorites. And that's where, um, kids who are interested in that program, she has that a few times a year. Um, kids can sign up for that, and they're given a particular project that they work on, and it's usually a craft of some kind, and they're told who that's going to someplace in the community or a person. Um, and they work together as a team and then individually on their projects to provide some type of, um, gift to the community. So past examples include one time they created decorative plates with positive messages on them, and then Miss Sparkles delivered them to the residents at Missouri Slope.

00:15:35,770	S2:
Oh how.

00:15:36,210	S3:
Awesome. One time they, um, they had, um, dog leashes and they wrote little messages to the the rescue dogs. And those were given to Central Dakota Humane Society. So again, it's that, um, building that sense of integrity in our youth, in our community, and also the importance of just working together and making our city a better place. Um, my all time favorite, I would say for kids is the Bart program Bismarck Animals reading with kids. That's partially because I am, uh, certified with my dog as a pet therapy team. So we take part in that program, but kids can sign up and read with therapy dogs 20 minutes at a time. And it builds confidence. And reading. That's my dog right there, Skye. I have to take a minute to point her out. She's very cute. Um, so kids can read with the dogs 20 minutes at a time. Um, it instills confidence in reading. Sometimes we have kids who have reading disabilities, or they're shy. Or maybe they just like animals. So that's a wonderful program that we have. Um, for teens, we have, again, a wide array of different programs. We have, um, we have movie events, um, board game events. Um, we've had video game tournaments, book clubs, all arts and crafts, all different kinds of things. And then for our adults, we have numerous book clubs that we have available, arts and crafts, special speakers and different things like that. Okay.

00:17:05,570	S2:
Is it true that someone can check out North Dakota State parking pass or fishing poles life jackets from a library?

00:17:12,490	S3:
Yes, it all kind of started incrementally. When I first started the library, we already had fishing poles available for checkout. You can check out a fishing pole that's through North Dakota game and fish. We partner with them. We have several partnerships throughout the city and state, which allow us to do much more than we could do on our own, which is kind of the the value of partnerships. So we started with that. You get a tackle box, which you can keep. And then we added on life jackets for kids and the state park passes. And we were actually part of the the first, the pilot project for that. And it was so successful that it's gone statewide. So you can stop in, check out a park pass. You just stick it in your windshield, and you can go to any state park and you will have the fee waived.

00:18:02,090	S2:
And that's up for the season then.

00:18:06,370	Or how does that work? S3:
That's year round.

00:18:07,330	S2:
Year.

00:18:07,570	S3:
Round. So if you can get to a state park in the winter, you can stop in and get one of the passes and not have to pay for that fee.

00:18:15,210	S2:
Do they bring the pass back?

00:18:16,770	S3:
Yes, you have to. We we highly. You're checking it out. So we ask that you please return it so others can. Others can use it.

00:18:24,490	S2:
So are there any other outreach programs that the library does? Do we get.

00:18:32,010	Do we extend beyond our city limits in any way, shape or form? S3:
Yes, very much so. So we have the Burleigh County Library, which is funded, um, in large part through the county, and most of their stops are within the rural parts of our county. With that, just a handful of stops in the city. So they make sure that everyone in our county has access to the same services that everyone in Bismarck has. And then we also have our mobile library, which is, um, a cargo van that was donated to us and that runs only within city limits. So we're doing all different types of outreach programs. And then, of course, Miss Sparkles goes to a lot of the schools, different parks in the summertime. So we're we're all over. We try to make sure that whether you can come to us in person, um, or if you cannot, we try to make sure in some shape or form you have access to our services.

00:19:26,450	S2:
So I guess my point there is that, you know, we do want to make our library available to also through the partnership with Burleigh County, to our our residents who live outside of the city of Bismarck. To the extent possible, make sure they have those resources because it may not exist in those other communities.

00:19:42,770	S3:
Yes. And many of the the rural schools, they do not have libraries. So the bookmobile stops at all of the rural schools and they provide material not only for the kids who walk onto the bookmobile and check items out themselves, but they also work with the teachers to provide them with books and materials specific to their lesson plans. So that's a great service that that is offered to them.

00:20:07,490	S2:
Great. Over the years, what are some of your favorite highlights regarding any of these programs at the library's offering?

00:20:15,330	S3:
Well, I'll start with the kids. Um, again, going back to just instilling that sense of integrity in our little ones is just so rewarding to see. Um, even if it's I don't think I mentioned our stuffed animals sleepover, it seems like kind of a silly and, you know, whimsical type of event that we have. Um, but when we have that event, kids can bring in their stuffed animals, they do a little craft with their stuffed animal, and then they leave the animal there overnight. And our teen volunteers take photos of the stuffed animals overnight, getting into shenanigans of the library. And then the kids pick them up in the morning. And it has happened on more than one occasion, where a child will come in clutching their stuffed animal, and they're just not sure if they're ready to part with it, and they'll say something like, um, oh, what if my stuffed animal gets lonely or afraid? And so it's beyond just having fun at a an event at the library. It's building these special skills that kids need to learn at a young age so that when they go into adulthood, they have these and they have empathy and compassion. Um, and just working with others and being in the community. Um, I'd say for the adults, we have so many different services that we offer through our information desk. Um, whether it's helping someone build a resume from scratch, looking for jobs or housing. Um, one of my favorite memories is that we we once had a student, an older than average student, who went back to school for their college degree and they did not know how to conduct research or write a paper with citations, and our librarians took the time to sit down with that person over the course of, um, a couple of years and help the student make it through their program. And he came back and showed us his diploma. And that was such a wonderful moment for our staff.

00:22:12,850	S2:
It's very rewarding.

00:22:14,410	S3:
Yes. And another time, um, I remember we had someone who was searching for jobs, and they were just having such a tough time. And again, our librarians helped them with the resume. They help them apply for jobs online. Um, a lot of people don't realize that just because you have a phone doesn't mean you can apply for jobs or write, you know, create resumes. You need a computer to do that. And not everyone has that right. So we offer that for free at the library. So they, you know, they're helping this person, helping them, and then they just didn't see him. And despite having, you know, close to a thousand people a day coming through our door. They recognize when someone is no longer coming in and they think, boy, you know, I hope that person is okay. I wonder what's going on. Well, soon after the person came back and actually apologized for not coming in as often because they were gainfully employed, they were like, that's wonderful. Thank you for telling us. Yeah. And then before leaving then he said, but I'll try to come in as often as I can. So it was a really nice story.

00:23:17,060	S2:
That's wonderful to hear. So in inside the library, obviously, we have a collection of books and DVDs, some art, other things.

00:23:30,860	What else do we have inside the library that might be of interest to the patrons, or someone who should maybe be a patron? S3:
So I would say for our for our collection, we have a huge collection of board games. So if you're a family or if you just like playing board games with your friends, you don't need to invest in buying those. You can just stop in the library and check them out at any given time. We might have maybe 50, but we have a collection of like close to 300. That's how many are checked out at any given time. We also have binge boxes, which are boxes that have 3 to 4 DVDs in them on a particular subject or theme. So you could check those out over the weekend and you're set for your entertainment. We also have other areas in the library that are heavily used by our community. We have meeting rooms that individuals can reserve. Um, we have study rooms that are available for 1 to 5 individuals. If they're working on a group project or studying on their own. And then our big draw, we have the gift of being coffee House, which is run by a wonderful family, the McMurtry's. Um, they offer not only coffee and teas, but also a full lunch line, smoothies and snacks and things like that.

00:24:39,620	S2:
Wonderful. So does the library house any special art collections? Occasionally, or collections of artifacts?

00:24:48,340	S3:
Yes. So in our front. If you've been in our looked in our front, um, uh, in our lobby, we have a display case, a locked glass display case, and we actually put on display different um, collections, um, owned by our citizens. And that's usually booked out about a year in advance. And we get all kinds of neat things, whether it's from an individual, um, you know, a citizen or it's maybe from a club like we've had the, the wood turners provide us with, um, their items to put in there. Um, and we've also worked with the downtown art co-op as well.

00:25:23,940	S2:
Wonderful. Um, so what type of the meeting rooms that we have? What's the capacity for and how how often are they used, do you think.

00:25:35,340	S3:
They're used often, especially evenings and weekends, whether it's by an organization or club. Townships, um, all different kinds of uses. But we have two smaller meeting rooms, and those are available for groups up to 40 people. And then we have our large room, room A, and that can house up to 200 people. And the draw of that room is that it also has a stage, and we have a regular piano and a grand piano. So we often have music recitals in there of local music teachers and the music club that we have in town, so that gets used often.

00:26:10,020	S2:
Wonderful. It's a great resource as we look forward to the future.

00:26:18,380	What do you see might be some challenges and opportunities for the library? S3:
Well, we just finished our current strategic plan, so we'll be working on that. And some of the things we'll be working on in that is making the community aware of all that we have to offer and becoming our citizens. Third space, which is a term that's getting used more often these days, and that refers to maybe your home is your first space and then, of course, you you know, your work. We want to be that third space where people go when you're not at home or at work. Where do you want to spend your time? And we want it to be at our facility. We really are a gathering space for everyone in the community, and it's just a special space to be. Um, as far as, um, building, um, things that we're seeing in the future that's kind of never ending. It's a revolving door with all the projects we have. But some of the things we have coming up include, um, renovating the restrooms, and we need new carpet. And I also just want to put a plug in for the Bismarck Library Foundation and Friends of the Public Library. Um, they are responsible for a lot of the projects that we've had done, especially building projects that we were not able to fund ourselves that are not necessarily, um, at the level that the city would take care of it, but maybe a step down. Um, but we don't have the funding for it, and they've come through in big ways to help us with that. So things like the children's renovation, um, our self-check machines, um, they built the coffee shop, the Teen Center. So we're very thankful to have their support.

00:27:54,260	S2:
And do we have? Do you think we have any structural needs for for expansion as a challenge in the future?

00:28:01,820	S4:
Part of our.

00:28:02,980	S3:
Strategic plan includes that we will hire someone to carry out a study on the feasibility of having maybe a branch library, but we feel that would be the prudent way to move forward with that. We want to study it first to see if, okay, statistically and data wise, it is a needed thing.

00:28:25,380	S2:
Well, I appreciate that. That's great. Just to know that at least we're not just jumping in and throw a building up without some thought. So Christine, thank you for joining me today on Bismarck Insights with mayor Mike Schmitz. And I appreciate your time today.

00:28:39,380	S3:
Thank you.

00:28:51,620	S1:
Thank you for watching Bismarck Insights with mayor Mike Schmitz. If you have specific topics or questions you'd like addressed in future episodes. Email Mayor Schmitz at Bismarck gov. Or call the City of Bismarck at (701) 355-1300.

00:29:09,620	S1:
To learn more about the City of Bismarck, visit Bismarck, N.D. gov. Or follow us on a variety of social media channels by searching Bismarck and Gov. Bismarck Insights is a collaboration between Dakota Media Access and the City of Bismarck. You may find Bismarck Insights episodes on government access channels two and 602, as well as on Roku, Apple TV and fire TV devices on Radio Access 102.5 FM and on demand at FreeTV.org. Org.