First neighborhood public library to open in North Rapid

By Susan Braunstein, Youth and Programming Librarian

The new General Beadle School Community Center proves that dreams really can come true as Rapid City continues to grow and expand.

Over three years ago, plans were put into place to build the first neighborhood public library for Rapid City. Those plans came to fruition this past January, when the Rapid City Public Library North opened in the General Beadle School Community Center.

The Grand Opening and Dedication celebration for Rapid City Public Library North (RCPL North) will be on Saturday, March 8, from 11:30 – 1:00 p.m., with a free chili feed. Dedication ceremonies will take place at 12:30 p.m., and the public are invited along with city, school, and county officials, to attend the day’s festivities. The Grand Opening is sponsored by the Friends of the Library and the Rapid City Library Foundation.

RCPL North is becoming a neighborhood community gathering place, with new people discovering and using the library each day. The library is open seven days a week: after school from 3-7 p.m. Monday - Thursday, 3-6 p.m. Friday, Saturday 9-6 and 12-6 p.m. on Sunday.

Summer hours at RCPL North will be from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday – Thursday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and Sunday noon to 6 p.m. These hours will be the same as the downtown library so students and families can participate in summer reading activities. The summer reading theme this year is “Catch the Reading Bug,” and activities related to this reading theme will be held at RCPL North.

Services offered at RCPL North are similar to services at the downtown library. Programs will include Family Story Times held on the third Tuesday of every month. In March, family story times at both the downtown and North locations will begin at 6 p.m. with a pizza party. Bring the family, enjoy some pizza and refreshments, and listen to stories that have a theme of transportation. Stories about boats, planes, trains or spacecraft are all possibilities during story time that night. Toddler and pre-school story times are held in the morning at the downtown library on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

For days when school classes are not in session, “Discovery Days” programs will be offered, and feature a hands-on presentation for students. Most recently in February there was a program on how to draw animals with South Dakota artist Lori Harrington, and local hip-hop artist K.O.D. held a music workshop demonstrating how to make and market hip hop music including how to produce a music CD.

The library will partner with General Beadle school events including Literacy Night on March 13; library staff will be on hand to sign people up for new library cards. This event will be held from 6:30-8 p.m. Literacy Bingo will be included at the event for youth to win a book for by giving the correct answers to questions.

A Rapid City Public Library card brings many benefits and can be used at RCPL North or the Downtown Quincy Street library. Cards are available at no additional fee to residents of Rapid City and Pennington County; residents outside of Pennington County may obtain a card for an annual fee of $70 per card. Library card holders have access to public computers for internet access, can check out a book on CD, and/ or download books to your MP3 player or in print. Other materials include DVDs, magazines and newspapers, and book club discussion bags.

For your convenience, library materials can be requested online and picked up at either library. Materials can also be mailed directly to your residence. The library website, www.rapidcitylibrary.org, includes information about the library’s services and highlights upcoming events. Sign up for a library RSS feed to have automatic notification about services or programs. And remember that RCPL library card holders can take Rapid Ride to both public libraries free of charge, just by showing your library card to the bus driver.

Make plans to attend the RCPL North Grand Opening so you don’t miss any of the fun, and to find out about all the services and events the Rapid City Public Library has to offer. Open up your opportunities with a public library card today!