Perfect lighting and lots of table space was the draw for the Tuesday women’s sewing group, gathered around a circle of tables in a room at the Laurel Library. Each working on intricate needle work, and chatting.
“We use to meet at the coffee shop that was the (Main Street) Perk but they closed. And so we were looking for a place and we asked the library if they had a place. And the lighting in here is perfect. And we have a big group. This is only a part of our group. We have up to 19 people here some times. And so this facilitated a circle where we could see each other and talk across the table. It was just perfect,” explain the women as they work on their projects.
An available, safe, well lighted space is just one of the benefits the Laurel library has says Mike Furman , assistant library director.
“We are very much a community hub. We are a safe place for people to get away from things. We are so much more than checking out books. We’re internet access, We’ll help you out doing research. We help you out on computers. We are just here to help,” Furman said.
The Laurel Library , of course, has books. They are a repository of more than 100 local cookbooks. Furman says they are a part of Montana’s history and who we are as people.
“It’s amazing how much value people can find in them, They’re genealogy, local history, the trends in foods throughout the years. It’s amazing how much value they have,” explained Furman.
They even have a reproduction of a church cookbook from a Billings church first published in 1893, four years after Montana became a state.
All found at a local library.