The Westshore Community Library in Lakeside is a success story for the women who founded it three decades ago.  

What started in a 400-square-foot shack in 1996 is now a full-fledged independent library, run entirely on donations, serving more than 3,000 patrons in Lakeside, Somers, Rollins, Dayton, Elmo, Proctor and Big Arm. A 25-member staff of volunteers operates the library Monday through Saturday. 

“I can’t imagine this,” said volunteer Susan Bagley. “This is surprising.” 

The library’s origin story dates back to the 1990s, when a group of Lakeside women realized a need in their community. At the time, the nearest public library was a 30-minute drive to Kalispell.  

“There's nothing between, you know, Kalispell and Polson,” said Joyce Tranberg, one of the founders who also served as its first librarian. “There's nothing for homeschoolers, for community research.”   

She described her connection to the library’s founding as a religious calling.  

Before she moved to Lakeside with her husband in 1980, she taught at Sunrise Elementary School in Albany, Oregon, where a little boy in her class repeatedly checked out “The Boy Who Sailed Around the World” by Robin Lee Graham.  

Tranberg had no idea Graham lived in Montana until she met his wife in Bible study class. The full-circle moment felt “Lord-directed,” she said. 

“Certainly, Lord-led,” Tranberg said. "And timing, it's all timing.” 

The women began advertising for the library in 1995, gathering donations and books from neighbors. They wanted to test the waters and see if there was an appetite for a library in Lakeside.  

“What interest is there? Do we have interest?” Tranberg said. “And then when the books started coming in, oh, there's a lot of interest.”   

Bill Brass Sr. donated a small, one-room shack located off 162 Bills Road to the library project. The grand opening was held on a cold, snowy day in January, and unfortunately, the building didn’t have any heat. 

Patricia Borjesson, another founder, recalled wearing fingerless gloves as she typed up catalog cards in a frozen room. The only warmth came from space heaters, which had to be turned on every morning. 

“We weren't allowed to have a campfire in the middle of the room,” she said, laughing.   

WITHIN THE first three months, the library had 120 registered patrons and received 3,000 donated volumes, all of which had to be cataloged by its 25-volunteer staff, the Daily Inter Lake reported at the time.  

“We had so many books piled up outside,” Borjesson said. “Boxes and boxes of books.”   

By the end of the year, inventory grew to more than 4,500 books, and 200 patrons had registered for a library card. It was clear to the library’s 15-member board that the project was quickly outgrowing its space.  

By 1998, the library moved to the Eisenlohr Business Center in Lakeside, where it stayed until November 2020, when a former real estate building was donated to the nonprofit through the Oro Y Plata Foundation.  

The new 1,900-square-foot facility features a kitchenette, brightly colored reading rooms and bookshelves stacked with the latest novels. Book clubs and community craft nights are held regularly in the back conference room, where windows offer a scenic view of Flathead Lake.  

One section is entirely devoted to Montana-based authors and run by volunteer Jo-Ann Swanson. Her early days as a reporter brought her into contact with a growing circle of local authors. Local favorites include Craig Lancaster, Leslie Budewitz, Christine Carbo and Collen O’Brien.    

“I interviewed all the Montana authors I could find,” she said.    

THE LIBRARY holds fundraising events all year-long, in addition to donations, to pay for its operations. Generous donors, including the Redfield family, Eisenlohr family and Oro Y Plata Foundation, have been credited for the library’s growth. 

Louise Redfield was an instrumental player in the library’s success, knitting children’s sweaters and selling them to raise funds. A children’s reading room in the library is dedicated to Redfield, who died Christmas Eve after a long battle with dementia.  

An anonymous group continues to knit children’s sweaters and hats and donate them to the library to sell and raise funds. 

Reporter Hannah Shields can be reached at 758-4439 or [email protected].  

On Tuesday, Jan. 27 Westshore Community Library is gearing up to hit a milestone as it celebrates 30 years of serving Lakeside and surrounding communities. A birthday bash is planned from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the library, located in Volunteer Park at 7191 U.S. 93.