New Page 3

History of the Grace Balloch Library

Library services in Spearfish date back to the early 1900's, when books from the Spearfish Normal school were loaned out from a store front on Main street. For a while during the depression the first true library opened up and was funded by the WPA, as a means of creating jobs. But the WPA soon left, and with it, the so-called library.

When Grace Balloch, an English teacher at Black Hills Teacher's College, passed away in the fall of 1944, she left her entire collection of books, about 1500, to the City of Spearfish. Those books were the beginning of the Spearfish Public Library.

As Grace had stated in her will, a library board of three women was established. The library planning board was composed of Florence Bettleheim , Millie Heidepriem, and Frances Repass. In April of 1945, on a public vote of 240 to 94, Grace Balloch Memorial Library was established.

The library officially opened June 23, 1945, between the hours of 2:00 and 5:00 p.m. daily, except Sunday. It maintained these hours until June 1, 1946 when Evelyn Hesseltine became the first official head librarian. During her 20 years as librarian, she not only maintained the original collection, but increased circulation from 1,162 books in 1945 to 14,639 in 1964. Miss Hesseltine retired in 1965.

Even though the library was official, the city still did not have the funds to provide a building. Mr. and Mrs. Tom L. Cutter, owners of the Spearfish Hotel, offered one of their rental offices on Hudson Street as a home for the library for six months. The books were moved to that space in 1945, and stayed there until they outgrew their space in 1962. They were then moved to the Sullivan building on Fifth Street.

When Anna Herr Frantz, Grace Balloch's sister, passed away in 1959, she left the Balloch home to the city with the stipulation that the site be used to build a new library. The library building fund was established in 1960, and after raising money through fines, fees, gifts, a city levy, and a federal grant, construction on the new library began in 1969.

In May 2008, the library opened the Kathy Follette and Mattie McVey Mystery Room with money received in memory of the two women along with the assistance of numerous local individuals and businesses. The newly decorated room houses the library's mystery collection as well as comfortable seating, an electric fireplace, and coffee for a relaxed reading atmosphere.

Grace Balloch Memorial Library is currently funded through Lawrence County, which also funds all four city libraries located within the county. In 1985, the Friends of Grace Balloch Memorial Library was established to assist the library in raising funds for equipment, materials, and other needs beyond county funding. Friends also sponsors community programs such as, guest speakers, exhibits, films, and story hours. all of which are free and open to the public.

Currently, library circulation is nearly 150,000 a year, with a collection of over 60,000 books, more than 4,000 videos, and over 3,000 audio books.