Rural Gem: Rawson Memorial District Library

Thanks to Library Director, Kate Van Auken, I recently had the honor of touring Rawson Memorial District Library, a rural public library, in Cass City, Michigan. Van Auken took the reins and became director in February of 2002. She is a fellow classmate currently working on her Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) degree at Wayne State University and has taken a number of children's and young adult literature classes.

The village of Cass City's motto: "Come for a Day -- Stay for a Lifetime." To give an understanding of the library's location, depending upon the route taken Rawson Library ranges from 98 to 115 miles (north) from Kresge-Purdy Library, home of the School of Library and Information Science, at Wayne State University.

Statement of Purpose

We believe the library is a vital part of the community. Rawson Memorial District Library exists to help satisfy the informational and reading needs of the residents of Cass City and the surrounding communities. The staff is committed to making this library a practical and friendly source of help to its patrons.

We hope to do this by welcoming your suggestions for new materials and services; by taking the time to listen and to provide you with answers you can use; and by connecting you to other sources when the information or materials you need are not available at this library. Our goal is to provide library services to all age groups and to help patrons find the materials and information they need.

Rawson Library serves the Village of Cass City, Elkland Township, Elmwood Township, and Novesta Township. According to 2000 Census data, the library's service area encompasses around 6500 citizens. Rawson also serves a number of patrons from outside of the library's service area making the total number of patrons around 8,000 - 9,000. Circulation data, without virtual branch numbers (e-books & audio), hovers around 60,000 items annually.

Blueprint of Rawson's YA Area

Thanks to the community's support and fundraising activities, in 1997 the library's footprint grew when a large addition, a community room with a basement for storage, was added without the use of millage money.

Just a few years later, in 2003, Van Auken, with the help of 8 area students, made the vision of a Young Adult area in the library a reality. Tarps and "caution" tape hid the long sought-after area for the grand opening event which plays host to a unique area specially designed for the tween and teen population to browse the internet at a cafe-style bistro table or a counter with outlets for laptop-users. YA fiction works and periodicals are housed in the section with library furnishings that appeal to eye -- a beautiful, curvy wood bookcase and a red paperback display rack that spins making browsing fun and easy for patrons.

In April of 2004, Rawson Memorial District Library's young adult area was featured in the Voice of Youth Advocates (27, no1, p 28 - 29) -- YA Spaces of Your Dreams.
Like Bad Axe Area District Library (Mimi Herrington), Rawson shelves juvenile and young adult non-fiction items in the main stacks with labels denoting the class (J or YA) on the book's spine while easy non-fiction is shelved in the children's area. Rawson has several special collections: an extensive business/economic section, large-print, genealogy, puzzles, DVDs (including non-fiction/documentaries), and audiobooks -- not to mention digitized newspapers from 1888 to present as well as cemetery records and maps.
Every library is unique. Rawson has a puzzle collection that it lends out to anyone with or without a library card (not a cataloged item in the collection). It is typical to see a puzzle "in the works" out on a table for anyone to join in and help with the project. I love this idea! 
I am pleased to know that Rawson also has an outreach / home-delivery program for library patrons that are home-bound due to a disability. A dedicated staff member assists patrons with their information needs and delivers materials to their home -- especially beneficial in a rural area in which it is easy to become isolated and when navigating the roads during inclement weather is challenging. The library also has an easy-to-use low-vision reader.

Rawson Memorial District Library received a 97% approval rating in the community. Truly a rural gem...