Bigfork receives sizable grants for new library

Two generous grants from organizations with ties to the Bigfork community have been awarded to ImagineIF Libraries and will be put toward securing a new facility in Bigfork.

The ImagineIF Library Foundation has undertaken a capital campaign to cover the purchase, renovation and furnishing of a 6,000-square-foot building to house ImagineIF Bigfork. The grants are a “critical leap toward realizing this facility,” according to a press release.

One grant comes from the Laura G. Barrett Endowment at the Montana Community Foundation in the amount of $100,000. The endowment will match donations received by June 30, 2020, dollar-for-dollar, up to $100,000. A community art gallery in the new space will be named in honor of Laura G. Barrett, a Montana native who died in 2017 and had a lifelong passion for the arts and community-building. The foundation is dedicated to supporting ideas and projects that create opportunities for arts, culture and more, particularly in the Bigfork area.

Charlotte Housel, executive director of ImagineIF Library Foundation, said in the press release that “ImagineIF is thrilled to honor Laura’s creative spirit in this way and is deeply grateful to her family for their philanthropic vision.”

The second grant comes from the Rotary Club of Bigfork, which gifted $10,000 to furnish the new library with technology and a digital media lab.

“The Rotary Club of Bigfork recognizes that access to technology and digital media is critical for our community, which is why we’re supporting this project,” said Amy Grout, a Rotary member who led the grant-writing process. The club aims to provide service to others, promote integrity and more through its fellowship of business, professional, and community leaders.

To date, campaign efforts have raised $348,123, inching their way toward a $1.6 million goal. In December 2018, the ImagineIF Library Foundation purchased a well-maintained 6,000-square-foot building from Bethany Lutheran Church on Montana 35 for $475,000. The purchase includes a shared parking agreement and a wooded lot large enough to accommodate patios, gardens and an outdoor play space, according to the press release.

Once the facility is renovated and furnished, the foundation plans to retain ownership of the building and the ImagineIF Library will operate in the new space, “allowing expanded collections, programs, resources and access for the thousands of children, teens and adults who use the Bigfork location.”

ImagineIF leadership continues to gather input from the community on what services and resources are needed in the new space. Final architectural plans will begin development once 75% of the fundraising goal is reached.

The grants come shortly after a financial setback involving Flathead County, in which the commissioners denied a funding increase for the Bigfork Library in the county’s preliminary budget for fiscal year 2020 and voted unanimously to remove future ImagineIF library projects from the county’s capital improvement plan.

Reporter Kianna Gardner may be reached at 758-4439 or kgardner@dailyinterlake.com.