The centerpiece of typical small town America is a sense of community built around local businesses and community events. A big aspect of this is the local library. Not many cities fit this description like Stillwater’s neighbor, Lake Elmo.

According to the Star Tribune, in 2011, after a low number of users, the Lake Elmo branch of the Washington county library was faced with a choice. It had to either face cuts in support from the county or to go independent. Despite critics, Lake Elmo chose to break from the county system and have a community supported library. Now, after more than two years, the Lake Elmo Library is experiencing more success than ever.

Linda Orsted, a librarian who works at Lake Elmo, is confident in the new system, pointing out areas of growth and improvement over the county library.

“We are able to offer more open hours now than we were able to before,” said Orsted.

Indeed, when one compares their old hours to the new hours posted in the building and on their website, an additional six hours have been added weekly. Workers at the library believe an independent library better serves the community than a government run county library.

“The sole purpose of a library is to provide a pleasant, enlightening learning experience to the citizens of a township,” said senior Kjerstin Berg, a volunteer at the Lake Elmo Library.

Adding onto this, Orsted explained how they can specifically work closely with the community in terms of providing to their users.

“When somebody requests material that we don’t have here in the library is generally we purchase it online and have it shipped in two days, meaning people don’t have to wait too long,” said Orsted.

The library’s brochure illustrates the variety of conveniences offered in such a small space, such as public computers, a conference room, several local, state and national newspapers, refreshments and more. Berg also confirms her belief that a community has more control over a library if it is not run by the government.

“With budget cuts going on, local libraries are on the brink of closing down,” said Berg.

If one is in the area and needs to do research, to find a new book or to just have a quiet place away from home to study, the Lake Elmo Library is the place to be. Both supporting and being supported by its community, it is part of small town America at its best.