A long-closed library in northwest North Dakota reopened this year with a little help from its friends — among them the North Jefferson County Friends of the Library.
The Tioga Community Library was closed about a decade ago after the oil boom “created such a large amount of people moving into the area,” library director Sandy Clark wrote in an email.
“The library was previously housed in the basement of the elementary school and shared the space with the school library,” Clark explained. “As more children began to attend the school, the school building needed space for the children, and questions of school safety and security arose by allowing the general public access to the school when school was in session.” As a result, she said the city decided to close the library and put its approximately 8,000 pieces of circulation material into storage.
