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A library’s best friend
Fergus Falls Daily Journal, August 24, 2006
By Matt Bewley

While many citizens in the Pelican Rapids area are Friends of the Library, Joan Ellison might best be described as one of its best friends.

“I think small towns sometimes live in a third-world environment,” she said. “There are often no art galleries, book stores, or theaters. Libraries connect people with the rest of the world.”

Now the president of the Pelican Rapids Friends of the Library, she was a proponent of a new facility when the library was just a few hundred books and some sign out sheets located in city hall.

In March 1980, a friend of hers became chair of the Womens’ Civic Club, which was beginning fundraising for a town library. She recruited Ellison to help.

“I helped with events, letter-writing and grants,” she said. “We made parade floats and held book sales.”

Word got out to the surrounding townships, which would ultimately provide about half of the library patronage. Several contributed to the effort.

In March of 1989, the first Pelican Rapids Library was built. It was relatively small in comparison to its current size, but offered several thousand books to young and old readers alike.

Since then, the library has, with Ellison’s help, provided several programs for the community, including twice hosting the Rolling Plains art gallery, other art exhibits, writers’ workshops and bi-lingual story time for kids.

She has also been directly involved with the more recent addition of the very successful Multicultural Learning Center, participating with fundraising efforts and grant proposals.

Today, she is working on funding another project.

“We want to provide an after-school program for kids,” she said. “We’ll provide reading help, help with home work and developing their leadership skills.”

Like all programs at the library, the program will be designed with Pelican Rapids’ cultural diversity in mind.

“We keep it in the back of our minds with everything we do here,” she said.

She anticipates the eventual need for about $40,000 in funding for a five-day-per-week program.

“We’ll probably have to start off with one day a week, until we get the rest of the funding,” she said.

If their track record is any indication, Joan Ellison and the other Friends of the Library will get the program in place all five days of the week.

“Keeping a healthy library in this town is the most important job I do,” said Ellison.

For more information on the Friends of the Library, call the library at 218-863-7055 or visit friendsofthelibrarypelicanrapids@yahoogroups.com.