The John Trigg Ester Library is a small nonprofit

library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...

, located in

Ester In chemistry, an ester is a compound derived from an oxoacid (organic or inorganic) in which at least one hydroxyl group () is replaced by an alkoxy group (), as in the substitution reaction of a carboxylic acid and an alcohol. Glycerides ar ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

. The library has approximately 6,000 volumes on its shelves with more than 15,000 in storage, and is constructing a new library building. The library design is for the farthest-north

Passive house "Passive house" (german: Passivhaus) is a voluntary standard for energy efficiency in a building, which reduces the building's ecological footprint. It results in ultra-low energy buildings that require little energy for space heating or coo ...

structure in North America. Phase 1, the thermal storage tank, is completed and the library is seeking funding to proceed on to Phase 2, the building shell. The library is open to the public, and is supported by grants, fundraising, and memberships. Most members come from the Ester area; dues are by donation, with a $10 per year minimum. Members help guide the library in setting goals, elect a board at the annual membership meeting, and may run for membership on the board. The library is staffed by its seven-member volunteer board of directors and a small group of additional volunteers. The library is housed in a historic log building known as the Ansgar & Ida Clausen Cabin, which has been renovated to make it more energy-efficient and to support the collections. The library has a cold-storage annex and storage outbuildings for donated books, furniture, and equipment. An associated gazebo and public composting outhouse, situated about a block away near the village post office, serves as an outdoor reading room and event area in connection with the library. The Ester library is a member of the Alaska Library Association and uses

LibraryThing LibraryThing is a social cataloging web application for storing and sharing book catalogs and various types of book metadata. It is used by authors, individuals, libraries, and publishers. Based in Portland, Maine, LibraryThing was developed by ...

for its online catalog.

Programs

The library has several programs at present, the longest-running bein
Growing Ester's Biodiversity
(GEB), a seed sharing program dedicated to increasing local food security and agricultural sustainability. The GEB program's

seed library A seed library is an institution that lends or shares seed. It is distinguished from a seedbank in that the main purpose is not to store or hold germplasm or seeds against possible destruction, but to disseminate them to the public which preserves ...

is housed in the Clausen Cabin and adjacent gardens. The library also features local community programs such as a monthly book club, a children's/family activity program, a weekly knit and crochet gathering, and a weekly writing circle for adults.

Collections

The library has an Alaska nonfiction/reference section, with special attention to books published in Ester or by or about Ester residents. This includes the ''

The Ester Republic ''The Ester Republic'' is a small, independent monthly newspaper published in Ester, Alaska, and established January 1999. The paper serves as an alternative media publication for the Tanana Valley. It is the only newspaper that has been published ...

'' a periodical. The library's Alaska nonfiction section also includes many Alaska Geographics. The library also has several foreign language and

Alaska Native Alaska Natives (also known as Alaskan Natives, Native Alaskans, Indigenous Alaskans, Aboriginal Alaskans or First Alaskans) are the indigenous peoples of Alaska and include Iñupiat, Yupik, Aleut, Eyak, Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian, and a numbe ...

language titles. These are not separated from the regular collections (primarily due to the lack of space) but are integrated into the main sections: Reference, Fiction, Nonfiction, Circumpolar nonfiction, Young readers, Young Adult, Literature,

Metaphysics Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality, the first principles of being, identity and change, space and time, causality, necessity, and possibility. It includes questions about the nature of conscio ...

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

, theology and spirituality, social sciences, language, science, applied science, and arts, music, and entertainment. A few DVD selections are available in both fiction & nondiction, as well as some books on CD. Cataloging of nonfiction follows the Dewey Decimal system. Languages include:

Athabaskan Athabaskan (also spelled ''Athabascan'', ''Athapaskan'' or ''Athapascan'', and also known as Dene) is a large family of indigenous languages of North America, located in western North America in three areal language groups: Northern, Pacific C ...

Yup'ik The Yup'ik or Yupiaq (sg & pl) and Yupiit or Yupiat (pl), also Central Alaskan Yup'ik, Central Yup'ik, Alaskan Yup'ik ( own name ''Yup'ik'' sg ''Yupiik'' dual ''Yupiit'' pl; russian: Юпики центральной Аляски), are an I ...

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

, Hungarian,

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

, and

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

. The library also has an extensive collection (for its size) of non-English dictionaries, grammars, and language self-study books. Collection development plans include expansion of the holdings available on the shelves, for which additional space is needed. The Ester library has developed its collection almost exclusively from donated and found

book A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages (made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper) bound together and protected by a cover. The technical term for this physical arr ...

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

s and games. As a result, the collection is eclectic, reflecting the reading habits of members of the community. The family of John Trigg has been a significant donor both in books and funds. Much of the library's collection of

science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

, and

mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' Films * ''Mystery'' (2012 film), a 2012 Chinese drama film * ''Mystery'' ( ...

titles were originally from Trigg's

private library A private library is a library that is privately owned. Private libraries are usually intended for the use of a small number of people, or even a single person. As with public libraries, some people use bookplates – stamps, stickers or ...

or donated by his family. Other major collections include books from Sue Ann Bowling, the Helfferich family, Robert Barr, Richard Heacox, the Guinn family, Four Winds Counseling, and the estates of David Stannis and Raymond Hadley, among others.

Book Shelf Project

In a fashion similar to the

Noel Wien Public Library The Noel Wien Public Library, operated by the Fairbanks North Star Borough, is located in Fairbanks, Alaska. It has a branch library in North Pole, Alaska. Its current director is Melissa Harter. The library has more than 100,000 titles in its colle ...

's Book Tile Project, the Ester library raises money by dedications with engraved plaques, to be affixed on bookshelves in the new building ($50 per plaque, one plaque per shelf).

History

The Ester library was founded in the summer of 1999. It was held by the Ester

Community Association A community association is a nongovernmental association of participating members of a community, such as a neighborhood, village, condominium, cooperative, or group of homeowners or property owners in a delineated geographic area. Participation may ...

between 2004 and 2009. The library received separate nonprofit recognition from the State of Alaska in November 200

and received federal charitable nonprofit status (IRS 501(c)(3) recognition) in 2011, retroactive to November 19, 2009.

References

External links

JTEL websiteLibraryThing online catalog
for the Ester library {{Authority control Buildings and structures in Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska Libraries in Alaska Education in Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska 1999 establishments in Alaska