Determined to retain access to the Flathead County Library, Marion School Board members are considering standing up a volunteer delivery service to keep the books flowing.  

Marion School officials were left scrambling after library trustees in March terminated a book delivery contract — effective July 1 —with the district for financial reasons. For Marion patrons, located 21 miles away from the nearest branch in Kalispell, the service is their only realistic connection to the public library system, said Superintendent and Principal Julia Maxwell at a school board meeting on Wednesday. 

“I don’t think [people] understand how terrible the weather is sometimes,” Maxwell said. “They can’t drive that far, or in the dark. ... This is really their only option, and I don’t want to take that away from them.” 

Through the delivery program, patrons reserve books online, and a county library staff member drops the materials off at a kiosk in the school once a week.

Parents and school board members volunteered to make the weekly drive to ensure the library service keeps running next year. Maxwell also suggested advertising the program to homeschool students and teenagers to encourage use. 

“I think it is a valuable tool for the few people that do use it, and I would like to expand it,” Maxwell said. “I just think we didn’t give it the push that it needed to get to stay worth [the library’s] time and effort.” 

Flathead County Library trustees told school officials they would no longer fund the book delivery service to the Marion School District after determining it was too costly to make the weekly trip over the course of the nine-month program. 

An average of two to three patrons used the book delivery service per month, according to a cost analysis provided by library officials. Each trip costs $52.96, up to $211.84 a month, library officials estimated, and Library Director Teri Dugan said the expenses associated with the service exceeded its level of use.  

While Maxwell touted the public library’s aid to the rural school district in the past, such as donating children’s books to the school library, she and other board members noted that the library is funded by taxpayer dollars, including from people in Marion.  

“Our money is just as green as someone in Whitefish or in Kalispell,” Maxwell said. “My frustration was ... we matter, too, and we at least should have gotten a ‘Hey, can you fix this, before we pull it?’” 

Library trustees indicated they were willing to discuss options, such as finding volunteers, for the book delivery service. 

Report for America reporter Hannah Shields can be reached at (406) 758-4439 or [email protected]. If you value local journalism, pledge your support at dailyinterlake.com/support.