The Libby Friends of the Library received $5,000 for community safety lighting upgrades in January.

The Flathead Electric Cooperative's Roundup for Safety Board awarded the money to help light the basement and the stairwells of the building.

The Co-op released the following information:

At its January meeting, the Roundup for Safety Board awarded $5,000 to the Libby Friends of the Library for community safety lighting upgrades.

The Libby Library, built in the early 1950s, is owned and operated by Lincoln County, but supported financially in many ways by the nonprofit Libby Friends of the Library. As the years have passed, the basement area of the library has become more heavily utilized, especially since publicly available computers are located there. The basement is devoid of natural light and has inadequate artificial light. Librarian Alyssa Ramirez estimated that about 5,000 patrons visit the Libby Library monthly.

Library staff is concerned about the high risk of falls in the basement and its stairwell. The lighting also makes its challenging for patrons to read book titles in the dim light, which causes people to stoop and bend in unsafe ways. In addition, much of the current library lighting is not controlled by switches, but by aging breakers.

Friends of the Library, represented by Susan Horelick, and Libby Librarian Alyssa Ramirez detailed the library’s community safety hazards to the Roundup for Safety Board. They estimated the lighting project cost at around $10,000. The Friends of the Library stated it has $5,000 available to complete the project. The Board noted the matching funds with approval in its award to the Friends of the Library.

The Roundup for Safety Board will consider February applications through January 31 and vote on them at its February 9 meeting. To learn more about the Co-op’s Roundup for Safety program, visit: Roundup for Safety – Flathead Electric Cooperative.