Built of straw and founded on community efforts, the library in the tiny town of Naturita is getting national recognition.
The Naturita Community Library was named Best Small Town Library in America for 2011 by the Library Journal, according to Amy McBride, development officer for the Montrose Rural Library District.
The award was created in 2005. It recognizes “exemplary work of libraries serving populations under 25,000.” The library will receive a $15,000 cash prize from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
The library — also the country’s largest straw-bale library — was completed in August 2009 and has since become a focal point for the town’s 700 residents.
“We knew we were doing something special in Naturita,” McBride said. “To be nationally recognized is a dream come true.”
The new library is about 4,400 square feet, eight times larger than the 500-square-foot building it replaced.
Raising the $1.25 million needed to build the library was a joint effort by public and private donors, as well as Naturita residents. Naturita voters approved a five-year property-tax increase to provide a portion of the funding, McBride said.
Building the library out of straw bales helped reduce utility costs. The library uses the thousands of dollars saved on utilities to improve education and literature programs, McBride said.
“This award really is not about the library and the staff,” said Susan Rice, branch supervisor for the Naturita library. “It’s an award for the whole community who bought into the library.”
Rice has been at the library for more than six years. She said the award is only the beginning of more programs and projects there.
Since the grand opening in 2009, the library has issued 500 library cards and put 5,000 new books on the shelves.
The library is working with the University Centers of the San Miguel to offer computer and college-level courses at the library.
Fewer than 3 percent of adults in Naturita have a bachelor’s degree, McBride said.
Jordan Steffen: 303-954-1794 or jsteffen@denverpost.com
