History
In 1955, a group of pioneering women decided that one important thing missing in the Wood River Valley was a free public library. The tax base at the time was too small to support a library, and although they had no money, no books, and no building, they were undaunted. The founding members of the library each contributed one dollar to the treasury, and then the hard work began. They opened the Gold Mine Thrift Shop in an abandoned miner's shack and canvassed the community for used goods, books, a parcel of land, architectural plans, and building skills. They raised funds with bridge parties, home tours, and tea dances. Within two years, they had enough to break ground. In 1957, the Community Library opened in the building which today houses the Gold Mine Thrift Shop. In 1976, the Library moved to its current location and has expanded several times, finally adding the Children's Library in 1996.
Specialties
The Community Library is a unique 501(c)(3) non-profit organization providing free library services to the public. We are not tax supported, and there are no fees, fines, or other restrictions on who may take out books, utilize our public computers, Wi-Fi, or attend our exceptional programming. Whether you live in Ketchum or Sun Valley, nearby Hailey or Bellevue, New York, London, or Kathmandu, you are welcome to use the Library. We are the largest public computing center in the region connected to a blazingly fast fiber-optic internet connection, have over 120,000 books and other media in our collection, and house the Regional History Department, the most complete archive of the Wood River Valley's history in the world. Federal Tax ID: 82-0290944