Colton Library Finishing Campaign

The Colton Library Story

          The Colton Library Story began as a dream, became a labor of love, and is now in jeopardy. The library in our small rural town in South Dakota embodies the heart and life-blood of our community and provides the services needed for our 689 citizens to survive and flourish in today’s world.
          Our small library is much more than a dispensary for books, movies, music cds, and periodicals. Our library is the invisible tie that binds our community together, creating a sense of unity through craft and reading programs for the children, computer access and training for the elderly and teens, free Wi-Fi to those who cannot afford it, educational programs and essential health and safety information in the attached community room.
        The dream began when our old library could no longer provide critical services and the local Colton Farmers Elevator offered to donate a building to the city for use as a library and community meeting room. The city accepted the building but did not have the funds to shoulder the expenses required to turn a building into a library.
          The labor began in July 2013 when a local committee initiated a campaign to provide funding for a site-search and lot-preparation, moving and renovating costs, and finishing projects. The project reached fruition when the new library opened to the public in May 2014. The Colton community embraced the new library with over 200 people utilizing its services each day. Amazing - that’s one-third of the town’s population visiting the library daily!
          The total cost for moving and renovating the building was $84,712. To date, community fundraisers, gifts from local businesses, utility companies, farmer elevators, and generous anonymous gifts have raised over $70,303. NO federal or state entities gave or made available funds for this project.
          Unfortunately, the community owes a balance of $14,409 to the building contractors: electrician, plumber, and local lumberyard. These contractors generously provided the labor and materials to make the library a reality, and they are justly entitled to payment for their labors.    
           In jeopardy: It is unconscionable to deny payment to these contractors; however, there is no money! We Colton residents humbly ask you for a donation to help pay our final obligations. Donations of $10, $20, $50 or more will add up quickly. You can check the progress of donations by returning to this site at any time. Your contributions are tax deductible as this library is part of municipal tax code 170(c)(1).

Thank you for helping our community pay for its new library!