Keep Sargent’s History Alive

Imagine putting your grandmother’s name in a search box and finding out that in 1921 she caught the biggest fish in a fishing contest in Sargent. Then you could type in your grandfather’s name and discover that he was the best speller in Custer County in the 5th grade. This could be the future for Sargent Library patrons.

Frequently people will come in the library and ask about information on a deceased relative. We don’t have many resources at our library that can help them. Usually they are told that they can go to the Sargent Leader office and look through old newspapers. The other option is to go to the historical museum in Broken Bow or Lincoln and look through rolls of microfilm. These are all nice options. The only problem is that in order to find any information, you need to know specific dates. Some people come searching for information when all they know is that their uncle lived in Sargent in the 1940s. Looking through all rolls of microfilm pertaining to the 1940s would take months of tedious research.

That is why our local paper, the Sargent Leader, needs to be digitized. If the local newspaper was digitized, all of the history of Sargent from the years 1900 to 2000 would be on one simple external hard drive that could be plugged into a library computer. People could search the database by typing in a name or event. Immediately any article or picture that ever mentioned that name would come up on the computer screen in PDF form. If patrons found an interesting article, it could be easily printed from one of our computers and taken home.

There are 33 reels of microfilm from years 1900 to 2000 that need to be converted. The cost is $125 per reel for a total of $4325. The Custer County Foundation has offered us a grant for $500, so this leaves $3825 yet to raise. This is doable. If every resident of Sargent gave $8, we would have more than enough to complete the project. Some donors may want to “adopt a reel” of microfilm for $125 and specify which years they would like to sponsor. Donations can be given in your name or in memory of a loved one. These names can then be placed onto the hard drive.

Donations (checks made out to “Sargent Library”) can be sent directly to the library at P.O. Box 476, or it can be sent to the First National Bank of Sargent for the library’s account. If you would prefer to give by credit card, you can call the Sargent City Offices at 308-527-4200, and they will accept donations for the library. Finally, you can give online though PayPal by simply clicking on the “donate” button on our website. Let’s keep Sargent’s history alive so that it can be shared with many generations to come. Thank you!