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Cross Plains, Texas is proud to announce that the Cross Plains Public Library has been selected as one of only three finalists in the Library Journal’s 2010 Best Small Library in America Award. This award, which is co-sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, was given after a review board looked at 30 small-town (under 25,000 pop.) libraries, and decided on three finalists.

The winner of this award was the Glen Carbon Centennial Library in Illinois, and the only other library finalist was the Baker County Library District in Baker City, Oregon. Both are bigger libraries with branches, and in larger population bases, so this is a HUGE deal for the Cross Plains Library, one worthy of much praise and banging of swords on shields!

Congratulations to Linda Burns, the CP Library Director and to all of her staff for giving people another reason to visit Cross Plains.

Here’s the write-up on the Library Journal site:

Cross Plains Public Library, TX

Linda Burns, Director, called a “star of the show” by a supporter, this library serving a total population of 2,335 proves that status with a community touch that makes all the difference in the ability to deliver great service. Despite the region’s already depressed economy, the library expanded in 2009, doubling its size with the addition of the Children’s Discovery Center—an effort that relied on local donations for more than a quarter of the $98,543 tab beyond the annual local gifts that fuel the bulk of the library budget. A number of partnerships put the library at the table in community organizations, and a healthy roster of programs span all ages. The library is also central to providing access to the materials of local author Robert E. Howard, of Conan the Barbarian fame.—Rebecca Miller