Midwest Tour: The Morton-James Public Library, Nebraska City, Nebraska
The Morton-James Public Library
As many of you know, we spoke at several state library association conferences across the Midwest in October and November. These trips provided great opportunities for us to see libraries we might not have had the chance to visit otherwise. One day, we were driving from Overland Park, Kansas to Omaha, Nebraska. Along the way, we made stops at several libraries. One that really stood out was the Morton-James Public Library in Nebraska City.
With a population just north of 7,300 people, Nebraska City is situated on the west bank of the Missouri River. The library is right downtown. It was a somewhat sleepy place during our visit, in the middle of a weekday morning; but that wasn’t always the case. Back in the 1890s, the decade the library was opened, the population was a bustling 11,000.
As we approached the library, there was something strangely familiar about it. We later learned that it was designed in the Romanesque style of Henry Hobson Richardson, well-known in Boston for his design of the Trinity Church in Copley Square (as well as the wonderful Ames Library in Easton, Massachusetts).
A cool and curious round reading space.
Once inside, we met Louan Beard, the library’s assistant director. She offered us a tour of the library, which was probably a good thing since it has a few floors, multiple additions, long hallways, and a warren of rooms and spaces to explore. It would have been easy to get lost! It’s a deceptive building, like Hermione’s beaded bag or Dr. Who’s TARDIS, seemingly much bigger on the inside than out.
One challenge of the library’s expansive space is the ability to have “eyes everywhere.” Sightlines into some parts of the library are virtually non-existent. This includes the teen area, where a little supervision can go a long way! I should note that a library volunteer was stationed nearby during our visit. Nevertheless, managing all of the library’s distributed spaces is an interesting challenge.
We learned that the library had never closed during the pandemic - the building did, but the library continued to find ways of serving its community. That connection to the community was something Louan emphasized at various points during our tour, and which we saw first hand. There was an event run by the city for seniors getting set up during our visit.
As Louan walked us outside, she shared some important news. She would soon be retiring and talked a bit about her plans for the future, which include working on a cancer garden in a nearby community. While we spoke, we were joined by Library Director Donna Kruse. We talked about the library, the community, some of the challenges, and plans for the future. With Louan’s departure, the library will also be going through a time of transition, as her long experience with the library is something that can’t be easily replaced or replicated.
Louan Beard shares some of the library’s history.
We saw Donna again a few days later at the Nebraska Library Association Conference in Omaha, following our session, “Seeing Your Library Through Your Patrons’ Eyes.” We spent time with her, talking about the importance - and challenges - of reaching out to non-library users within a community. It’s something we have seen and heard a lot about in our travels and we were able to share some examples of it being done well in different communities we’ve visited. These are the kinds of conversations we love having, and hope to continue having with libraries around the country.
A soft sculpture tree in the children’s area.
There was a lot to see and appreciate about this library. The spaces, the services, the staff, and the commitment to the community were all outstanding. It was a welcome and wonderful stop on our travels through library land. We hope to return someday - ya’ll should visit it too!