Post Falls and Athol Libraries will be closed until Summer 2024 due to extensive damage caused by January’s freeze.

Contact Us

(208) 773-1506
postfalls@communitylibrary.net

821 N Spokane St
Post Falls, ID 83854

Library Hours

Monday – Thursday: 10 am – 8 pm
Friday: 10 am – 6 pm
Saturday: 10 am – 5 pm
Sunday: Noon – 5 pm

2024 Closures

New Year’s Day
Monday, January 1, 2024

Martin Luther King Day
Monday, January 15, 2024

Presidents’ Day
Monday, February 19, 2024

Easter
Sunday, March 31, 2024

Memorial Day
Monday, May 27, 2024

Juneteenth
Wednesday, June 19, 2024

4th of July
Thursday, July 4, 2024

Labor Day
Monday, September 2, 2024

Columbus Day
Monday, October 14, 2024

Veterans Day
Monday, November 11, 2024

Thanksgiving Day
Thursday, November 28, 2024

Christmas Eve Day
Tuesday, December 24, 2024

Christmas
Wednesday, December 25, 2024

New Year’s Eve – We Close Early
Tuesday, December 31, 2024

Library Manager

Jennifer Craft

JENNIFER CRAFT

Having the freedom to read and the freedom to choose is one of the best gifts my parents ever gave me.

~ Judy Blume

Post Falls Library History

Annie Patterson, Post Falls Library's 1st Librarian

Mrs. Annie Patterson

In 1910 Mrs. Annie Patterson took responsibility for maintaining a library in her home on the corner of First and Frederick. Annie was a member of a group of mothers and wives who called themselves the Progressive Study Club—the group sponsored the collection. Annie kept the five shelves of the library accessible to whoever needed it whenever she was home.

In 1912 the library moved from Annie’s home into a small upstairs room in Nogle Hall. At the time, Nogle Hall was the epicenter of entertainment for the burgeoning township of Post Falls, and it made sense for the library to be housed there. Once the library had a home of its own, it was time to hire a dedicated custodian and curator for the collection—a librarian. In 1913 Mrs. Cornelia Lewis took what Mrs. Patterson started as a volunteer and saw the library through the next phase of its life. Mrs. Lewis was the librarian on December 7th, 1915, when the village council drew up and approved the charter that officially established a tax-supported public library.

Mrs. Cornelia Lewis, Post Falls Library's 2nd Librarian

Mrs. Cornelia Lewis

Mrs. Patterson and Mrs. Lewis were followed by many librarians who became dedicated fixtures of the small town of Post Falls. Mrs. Reynolds took over as librarian after Mrs. Lewis transitioned the library into a publicly funded enterprise, then Mrs. Florence Lucky, and then Mary Shanks. We have records indicating that while Mary was the librarian in 1942, the village provided an annual budget of $250 to cover the purchase of books, Mary’s salary, and required library maintenance. The library was open two days a week from 1:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. and Mary’s salary ranged from $12.00-$13.50 per month.

When the only bank in town closed in the great depression of 1933, the library moved to the back of the then empty building. It cost $19 to complete the move and the library remained there for over three decades.

Old Post Falls Library Interior photo from 1966

In 1966 the library moved into the first building designed and built specifically to be a library. In a stunning display of modern architecture, architect Robert (R.G.) Nelson and the Chairman of the Library Board of Trustees, Ted Snyder, facilitated the construction of the building through a $15,750 federal grant, $10,000 in city funds, and several $500 gifts from library board members and the Friends of the Library group.

Post Falls Library circa 1983

The 1966 building was the first building to house the library at its current location on the corner of Mullan Avenue and Spokane Street. This building was the crown jewel of Post Falls throughout the 1970s and ‘80s. The new building ushered in a new era of librarianship as well. Post Falls welcomed its first master’s degree level librarian, Kathryn Prather, in 1978. It was Kathryn who oversaw the conversion of the library’s holdings into digitized record keeping. The Post Falls Library was among the first libraries in the state to begin circulating books by computer in 1987 thanks to Kathryn.

Although the beautiful example of modern architecture served the needs of the library well for over two decades, the library eventually outgrew the 1,500 square foot building. In 1998, library director Joe Reiss and the Board of Trustees asked the citizens of Post Falls to support the growth of the library with a library bond to expand the building that housed the library. The bond needed a two-thirds super-majority to pass. It passed with 78% of voters approving the library’s expansion into a new building.

Joe Reiss meeting with the architect

Architect Ron Tan and Library Director Joe Reiss celebrate the reality of the vision at the Open House in 2000

Once the new library was built, Joe and the library board asked the citizens of Post Falls if they would like to shift the library away from being a city library to join the Community Library Network, a larger library district. The proposal was voted on in the November 2009 election and passed. The Post Falls Library transitioned into being a part of the Community Library Network in 2010, joining libraries in Athol, Harrison, Hayden, Pinehurst, Rathdrum, Spirit Lake, and the Bookmobile.

Map of the Community Library Network

Since joining the district, Post Falls residents now have access to over two-hundred thousand print items, thirteen thousand audio items, twenty-three thousand video items, eighteen thousand pieces of electronic media, and one hundred electronic research databases owned and shared within the district.

The Post Falls location circulates over thirty thousand items each month. The library has also continued a long tradition of hosting informational, cultural, and artistic events for all ages, fostering a love of lifelong learning.

We’d like to think Mrs. Annie Patterson would be proud of what her five shelves of books, and all the people who looked after them, have accomplished.

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