Our library serves as an information center for all individuals in the Sargent Area. We seek to inspire life-long learning, and provide research tools to serve and strengthen our community and ignite imaginations.
In light of the COVD-19, to ensure the safety of our citizens, the Sargent Township Library will be closed until further notice. Patrons can still check out eBooks and audio books online through OverDrive
Our library does have Wi-Fi, so you may access the service 24/7 from the curb or outside bench using your laptop.
Everyone take care and stay healthy, We will get through this.
It has become necessary to remove the Sargent Leader Newspaper Archive from online access. It was being hosted by GoDaddy, and they claim the newspaper archive violates their terms and conditions. We disagree, but nevertheless, the newspaper archive has been taken offline for now. Hopefully it will be returned in the future.
You can still access and search past issues of the Sargent Leader on the library’s computers.
Come check out one of our newest books.
The Rule of One is a dystopian novel about the United States over 75 years into the future. The country is dealing with a climate crisis and greatly limited natural resources. The government uses fear as it’s weapon to take away the rights of its citizens. A one child policy is put in place and strictly enforced.
Into this scenario, identical twins Ava & Mira are born. Because more than one child is illegal, the twins must be concealed. This is done successfully for eighteen years. Ava & Mira take turns going to school. In the evenings they debrief each other on the day’s happenings. That is until one day their ruse is discovered, and they are forced to flee to save their lives. They have to avoid mandatory scanning devices, drones, heat sensors, wild animals, and outlaws as they try to make their way to Canada.
This is a fun read that is geared toward young adults, but can easily be enjoyed by adults as well. The tension and excitement last until the very end.
In part one of this series we learned a little about how the idea of a library in Sargent was conceived in the year 1919. The plan was to get a Carnegie grant. Unfortunately the town found out that the Carnegie Foundation was not building any libraries at that time. Still undeterred, the community learned that the law provided that a township could vote a tax levy for the purpose of raising money for a library. The citizens of Sargent precinct approved the tax, and so began the accumulation of a fund for a library. Different organizations around town also contributed to this fund.
In January of 1927, the library fund totaled $8977.00, and the library board was advised “to invest the fund as fast as possible in outstanding precinct warrants that drew 7% interest.” By February, 1928, they had accumulated $10,500.00, and the library board purchased a house from Mr. & Mrs. Harold Perrin for $3700.00. The plan was to “fix up the lower part of the building for library uses until such a time enough funds were available for the erection of a better building and one designed especially for the purpose.“
One month later, the library board met with Miss Nellie Williams, the state librarian. She was very excited about how our library was progressing. In fact, she encouraged the board to keep the temporary house purchased and remodel it so that it could be used as a permanent library for many years to come. The board hired someone to build book shelves on the main floor, and enlarged the basement to include a coal room. It was decided that the upper story of the building would be used to house the librarian. The new librarian would be Mrs. Bert Melchar.
The library officially opened on July 7, 1928. There were 300 volumes of fiction and 100 volumes of non-fiction. Residents of Sargent were so hungry for reading materials that within one and a half weeks, there were over 100 borrowers on file and 225 books were loaned out. Pictured below are some of the books listed in the new library.
Popular books in Sargent’s Library in 1928
Zoo Nebraska is a remarkable, true story about small town dreams and tragedy. Carson Vaughan tells the story of how one man’s childhood dream of working with primates in Rwanda turned instead into building a zoo in Royal, Nebraska. Soon the whole town of Royal was involved in promoting and maintaining this zoo. This was a great tourist attraction and a boon for Royal’s economy. Unfortunately the logistics, labor and cost of maintaining this zoo turned into a nightmare, and the nightmare eventually turned into a tragedy. The author interviewed each person involved and tells the story from different perspectives. Sargent residents will be able to relate to the small town power struggles and how this tragedy could have easily happened in any similar small town.
Carson Vaughan is from Broken Bow, Nebraska. So come check out a local author.
