White Lake Community Library

The White Lake Library houses National Geographic pictures and articles about the historic Explorer II Stratosphere Balloon, which landed near White Lake on Nov. 11, 1935, local scrapbooks of historical information, school annuals, local memorabilia and outreach to archives of old local newspapers. 

The building houses both the library and the city hall/finance office.

• No library card is required to check out/borrow material from the library.
• Borrowers must agree to pay for overdue, lost, or damaged materials checked out to them.  A parent or guardian will be responsible for all items checked out in a child’s name, as well as any fines or charges.
• Length of loan period for all library materials is 2 weeks and generally can be renewed for another 2-week interval unless there is a waiting list for that item.
• Overdue items are subject to a fine of 10 cents per week per item overdue.

If the library does not own an item, ask about its interlibrary loan option. The library may be able to borrow the item from another library in the state.  Materials borrowed from another library are subject to the rules and regulations of that loaning library.

Access to thousands of E-books and audio books by acquiring an access code from the librarian and creating an account

• Computer users must be at least 18 years old OR be accompanied by a parent or guardian OR have an Internet use permission form signed by a parent or guardian on file with the library. Patrons under the age of 18 will have access to the computers when the librarian is on duty.

• Each computer user must sign in before using a computer and sign out when finished using that computer.

Anyone who would like to memorialize someone with a book can bring a memorial contribution to the library.  The librarian will then purchase a book with that person’s interests in mind. A memorial card that provides the name of the person in whose memory the gift is given as well as its donor will be placed in the book cover.

The local library first opened its doors in January 1959, after two years of research, planning, and hard work. Many townspeople and organizations contributed shelving, books, magazines, and other supplies to make the library a reality.  The South Dakota State Library also played a role by donating children’s books for several years.

The library originally was located in the front of a building that was then the White Lake City Hall on a street east of Main Street.  In June 1973, the library was moved to a Main Street building that had been generously donated by Mrs. John Gilbertz (now the Krohmer Insurance Agency business). In the summer of 2002, the library moved into what had been a funeral chapel at 111 S. Main Street. In its 62 years of existence it has had only three librarians: Mrs. Nettie Watson from 1959-1972, Elsie Bogenhagen from 1972-1984, and Linda Dodds from June 1984 to the present.