April 2024

LIBRARY NEWS

Celebrate with us!

It's National Library Week, and we're celebrating with the release of our 2023 Progress Report on the library’s strategic plan. As we pulled together all of the data, it became clear that 2023 was an outstanding year for Stillwater Public Library.

Here are just a few of the highlights:

• Borrowing of both physical and electronic items hit record levels in 2023 with over 350,000 physical materials and close to 80,000 e-materials borrowed. Total circulation has increased more than 30% over the past 10 years while Stillwater's population has grown about 3%.
• Participation in the library’s 287 programs for adult, teens, and kids topped out at nearly 19,000 people. That number has more than tripled since 2002!
• There were more than 126,000 visits to the library in 2023 - an average of 376 people each day.
• In 2023, we were honored with an award from the Stillwater Heritage Preservation Commission. In addition, our youth services team was nominated for a Stillwater Human Rights Award.
• As part of the Stillwater Area Historic Newspaper Initiative, we digitized over 77,00 pages of local newspapers from 1870-1926.

This all wouldn’t have been possible without the financial support of the City of Stillwater and the generosity of donors to the Stillwater Public Library Foundation and Friends of the Stillwater Public Library. We also can’t forget about the time and talents contributed by our volunteers. We couldn’t have had as great of a year without their 2,541 volunteer hours, an equivalent of over $80,000 in staffing.

Visit us in person or online to see all of the things we have in store for 2024. It’s sure to be another great year here!

And, if you stop in during National Library Week, take a minute or two to enjoy a cup of coffee provided by the Stillwater Public Library Foundation in appreciation for being a part of the library's story! 

We'd also love to hear your library story! Share how you use the library and the services you value through a brief online survey.

From Our Archives

Logjam on the St. Croix River (1884)

Logjams were a near yearly event in late spring and early summer as the loggers upriver dumped the season’s logs into the swollen St. Croix River to be carried downstream to the lumber mills in Stillwater. Significant logjams occurred in Taylor’s Falls in 1865, 1877, 1883, and, most famously, in 1886.

The logjam pictured in this post occurred in 1884 and was considered a “minor” jam. It was soon broken up. The record-breaking jam of 1886 was estimated to be 7 miles long with logs packed 30 feet or more above the normal water level. The immense pressure caused by the still-flowing river against the tightly packed logs created dangerous conditions as logs could snap and hurtle through the air.

The logjams were laborious to break up, requiring horse teams, scores of men, and even steamboats that were equipped with winches. All of these worked together to slowly pick apart and free the jammed logs until the river could flow freely again. The larger logjams cost $5,000 to $10,000 for the logging companies to break up ($150,000 to $300,000 in 2024 dollars).

This photograph is part of the John Runk Photograph Collection, which can be viewed in the St. Croix Collection at the library. The library also has a large selection of materials on the history of lumbering in Stillwater and the St. Croix Valley.

UPCOMING EVENTS

EARTH DAY PICKS

Explore some nonfiction books that reflect the spirit of Earth Day.

VALLEY READS

Finding Joy in the Midst of Sorrow

Join your neighbors in April as we read The House of Broken Angels by Luis Alberto Urrea. Valley Reads in the St. Croix Valley is a one book, one community program that brings together residents around a common book. After nine years of NEA Big Read titles, we now are taking a deeper dive into some of the themes, authors and artists that have been featured during the Big Read. This year's programming is focused on themes found in Urrea's work: grief; rituals for marking time; and the borderlands and the Mexican American experience.

Check out the book from the library or pick up a free copy at ArtReach (located just across the street from the library's 4th Street entrance) to read and pass along. Stop by ArtReach during their open gallery hours.

Book Discussion: Explore the book with library staff during a book discussion on Friday, April 12 at 3 PM.

Author Talk: Urrea will discuss the story of Big Angel and his final fiesta. This evening is supported by Valley Bookseller. The event is on April 25 at 6:30 PM at Ascension Church in Stillwater. Doors open at 6:15 PM. Admission is free, but advanced registration is required at ValleyReads.eventbrite.com or call 651-439-1465.