The truth is in here

Truth truly is stranger than fiction. One institution stocks plenty of both.

Last month I went deep into the stacks and behind the scenes at a tour of the Kalispell library, a new monthly offering led by staffer Tony Edmundson.  

Edmundson cheerfully rounded up takers in the lobby of the Flathead County Library branch’s current location, the 1917 Federal Building that had served as the main post office. He pointed out the original marble in the holds area as evidence of the building’s former grandeur. 

Between 400 and 600 people visit daily, not only for books. A quilt from the local guild is displayed on a rotating basis, and Flathead Valley artists hang new work every three months.  

“These are things that bring people in,” he said, while mentioning that many people stop in to drop off old books, look at the new, check on holds, and they’re off. 

Edmundson said, “We tweak things a lot.” The inside book drop recently moved to make way for two computer stations. A new circulating map collection serves adventurers.  

Moving to the back of the building we heard the gentle clamor of baby storytime as 11 kids bumped about among their adults.  

Children’s librarian Becca Johnson said the branch offers three storytimes by age: “Children before they start to read need to have a foundational experience.” That means learning through play and providing the means for parents and caregivers to use different vocabulary. Summer storytimes can draw as many as 75 people. 

Other nuggets gleaned: Users borrowed more than 93,000 items last year and can access the holdings of 40-plus partner libraries; books can “explode” in the alley book drop, which is why some coffee-table tomes are stickered for inside return; there’s a free shelf upstairs (“People go there on the daily,” Edmundson said); the meeting room can be booked by anyone; and don’t use a $50 for a bookmark. 

Upstairs, Edmundson showed historic items, including meeting notes of the Kalispell City Board of Health from 1907 and a 1953 Folkways album of “Songs and Dances of the Flathead Indians.” Edmundson dreams of a dedicated “Montana room.” 

He mentioned that with the Logan Health medical library now closed to the public, people come into the branch to research diagnoses. Health care workers may not have the time to provide full information on conditions and care, so as Edmundson said, “It’s on us.” 

My first journalism job after college involved fact checking at a national outdoor adventure magazine, where I vetted everything from spellings of far-flung places to writers’ breezy factoids, such as how hard an alligator bites. Many phone calls led to a Florida professor who knew the exact PSI. 

Facts seemed more findable then, sources more solid. Now we have the internet and social media, milieus fast becoming the definition of “bot and sold.”  

Few places trade in truth except for news organizations dedicated to journalism ethics — and libraries. They not only line their shelves with points of view usually fact-checked by time and vetted by publishers, they hire knowledgeable staff to help readers navigate the online glut in pursuit of true information. 

More than ever, it’s on us. 

Margaret E. Davis, executive director of the Northwest Montana History Museum, can be reached at mdavis@dailyinterlake.com.