BONNERS FERRY — Our local Boundary County Library was nominated and has now officially received the award for being the Best Small Library in America for the year of 2017. With their hometown hospitality and the caring attitude of all the staff members added to the plethora of learning materials, they have not only earned this award, but have captured the hearts of Boundary County.

“It’s an amazing honor,” said Craig Anderson. “ I was at the directors summit in March in Boise, and I was asked to be on the panel. I had only been on the job for six months, and they wanted me to tell the story of this library. I guess that the fashion in which I told our story got to some people and Gretchen Caserotti from the Meridian Library heard it and decided she wanted to nominate us.”

Library Journal paid Anderson a phone call with the good news. “Once I learned how to breathe again, it’s great,” Anderson exclaimed.

Even though the team at BCL had to keep the award quiet until the Library Journal had released their official story, the excitement never faded. Anderson received the notification that he could spread the word locally while he was vacationing with his family, and proceeded to promptly upon their return.

“We are going to keep being the best library that we can be. That’s all we can do, that’s all we plan to do,” said Anderson.

He believes strongly in the phrase: “We need to become creators, not just consumers,” and has invested his time and resources in order to bring that message to the community. The idea is showcased primarily in the many events that the library holds in order to bring top quality education to the people of Boundary County. The Fabrication Laboratory and the work that Anderson and the team at the library have done to bring that to our community also shows their dedication to helping people bring their ideas to reality.

“You can read about people doing great things, but why not you? Why can’t you do great things too? There is no reason that you can’t. This concept is really important to me, and my staff shares the same view,” said Anderson.

Speaking about his team, he said, “We are all rowing a boat, and pulling our ores in the same direction, at the same speed, with the same goal. That’s what we are about, we care.”