Clark county libraries review their 2024 passport program

The trip is over for the Clark County “Adventure Begins at your Clark County Library” Passport Program. The response to the program led to 102 passports submitted. Surprisingly, 89 of those traveling visited all ten libraries, and the remaining 13 made the trip to at least five libraries during the three-month long challenge.

The drawing was on Friday, September 20 at the Granton Community Library. Kay Heiting (Granton Director) and Vicky Calmes (Colby Director) drew the winning names. The top prizes, $75 gift certificates to Clark County businesses of Marieke Gouda, Tender Shoots Gardens & Greenhouse, and Aroma Cafe, were drawn from entries with all ten libraries visited. Then, three winners were drawn from the passports visiting five libraries or more turned into each Clark County library for $10 gift cards for Subway, Family Dollar, and Kwik Trip.

While only 33 people could win, from comments heard while visitors toured the libraries, everyone was a winner because they were able to see the uniqueness of each library. Many confessed they started the program not even knowing there were ten libraries in Clark County. Patrons also checked out materials from the libraries they visited, as they found items different from what is readily available at their home libraries.

Travelers also noted that they often did not just go to the library in the town but found a place for lunch, a nice park or playground to visit, purchased gas for their vehicles, and visited stores they did not know about.

Calmes and Ruth Reiling, CCL library assistant, compiled all the comments from the interesting feature line in each passport. Listed below are the most popular features mentioned for each library: Abbotsford: Railroad theme and signage Colby: Wisconsin History and STEM rooms Dorchester: Bookworm motif and circle window Granton: Library serves both school and community Greenwood: Old jail cell room and located by park Loyal: Coffee bar and space for exercise classes Neillsville: Carnegie Library and cake pans Owen: Library dog and train connection Thorp: Library cow and carved owl Withee: Museum-like displays and cozy kid’s area The program was funded through the generosity of the Clark County Community Foundation, Inc. grant.