The Huron Public Library is pleased to announce that residents living outside of the City limits but within Beadle County will now receive free library cards courtesy of the Elaine Smogard Fund. This service begins August 1, 2018. Previously only school-age children qualified for this service.
Elaine Smogard, daughter of former mayor Carl Theodore Smogard and Edna Beryl Snyder, became a librarian for Harvard University. When she passed away in March 2013 she left tracts of land to the Presbyterian Church, Y.W.C.A and the Huron Public Library. The library rents the land to a local farmer and places the monies in a trust. In 2016 the Library Board voted to use Smogard funds to purchase library cards for school-age children who lived outside of Huron City limits. The program has been so successful that they decided to expand the program to include all residents living within Beadle County outside of Huron. This is the Library’s way of thanking county residents for their continuous support of the library and its services.
Patrons who have a Smogard card will follow the libraries rules and regulations plus be responsible for any fines or fees accumulated against their library card. They will have access to the libraries webpage and remote databases. To obtain a card all they need do is present legal identification showing their current address within Beadle County. For people who have paid for a non-resident card prior to August 1, their card will be exchanged for a Smogard card.
“We are excited to offer this service to Beadle County residents. Elaine’s thoughtfulness of bequeathing land to Huron Public Library has allowed us to provide this service,” said Shirley Apley, Library Director. “The Library Board is proud of the services we offer and wants to share it with everyone.” The library will now offer four types of library cards – eCards (issued so people can access our computers at the library), resident card (for citizens of Huron), Smogard (for residents living outside of Huron city limits but within Beadle County) and non-resident cards (for people who live outside of Beadle County. This card costs $25.00).
For more information about these services stop by the Huron Public Library or phone 353-8530. Or, visit our webpage library.huronsd.com, or find us on Facebook and Instagram.