Fairfield Bay Library: The little library that could

Volunteers continue to support Fairfield Bay Library

— Dick Kellenberg will never forget a single one of the 200 trees he cut down with his chain saw to clear the land for the Fairfield Bay Library.

He did it all by himself because his partner in crime, Don Cuatt, said he had an allergy to the trees.

“These guys were so enthusiastic about the whole thing,” Bonnie Hookman remembered.

The three Fairfield Bay residents were partially responsible for the creation of the present-day Fairfield Bay Library.

Library Director Sara Michael said the support of the community has been important from the beginning because Fairfield Bay’s library is the only library in the state that doesn’t receive a county tax millage or state funding.

The library was previously funded by the Fairfield Bay Community Club, but in 1998, things changed.

“The Community Club said they could no longer support the library,” Hookman explained. “They were paying for the building and all our utilities, and they gave us 18 months to come up with a library.”

The project took just a couple of months, Hookman said. There was never any question whether the Fairfield Bay Library was a necessary community asset.

Kellenberg and Cuatt secured the land for the building, and in order to cut costs, the two and a group of their friends did much of the work themselves.

“We did all the interior and exterior painting,” Cuatt began. “We put up the column enclosures on the front of the building, laid the sidewalk, built the reading garden and the front desk, did all the interior signage, built new shelving.”

The list goes on and on.

Funding initially came from the Friends of the Library fund and various donations and fundraisers.

Hookman remembers selling coverlets and asking people to “buy a piece of the door” for the library. She said it was all worth it on Aug. 23, 2000, when the library doors opened with cash in the bank to spare.

“To open it and have it paid for was a huge accomplishment,” she said.

These days, the library’s original pioneers don’t volunteer anymore, but 40 others do.

Under Michael’s supervision, those 40 volunteers staff the library, contributing 6,000 volunteer hours a year.

“The patrons and my volunteers are my favorite part of my job,” Michael said. “One of the first thing I had to learn was how to take care of my volunteers because they are such a vital part of what we do.”

Doris Wilkinson, who volunteers on Saturdays, is also a member of the library’s board.

Wilkinson enjoys working with the public and with Michael to keep the library running smoothly.

“I was in education for 30 something years before I retired in Fairfield Bay,” Wilkinson said. “I always loved books, especially children’s books, so the library is a great place to be.”

Michael said that although the library is independently funded, she still receives great support from the Arkansas Library Association. It provides tech support and has provided several small grants to the Fairfield Bay Library.

Even with the grants the library has received, Michael said funding is still her biggest concern.

The library shares the building with a local pharmacy, from which the library collects rent. It has also taken a cue from larger cities and has instituted an annual membership fee of $15 per year.

“We have different levels, so sometimes people pay up to $50 or $100,” Michael said.

And that helps, but Michael’s vision is for someone to step up to help raise funds through larger grant opportunities. She is looking for an individual or a team from the community — preferably people with experience writing grant proposals — to search and apply for grants.

Any grants acquired would be placed in an endowment fund, which, in Michael’s vision, would never be depleted.

“One day we will fund this library completely,” Michael said.

For now, continued community support is the most important part of making the library successful.

“I think the library really is a hidden gem,” Wilkinson said. “People in Fairfield Bay need to know what they have available here to them. The library is a wonderful resource.”

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