The recipients of the 2018 Bismarck Library Foundation Pearce Award for Library Service, Kathy and Orville Eide, are no strangers to helping the Bismarck Veterans Memorial Public Library. They helped fund a new mascot, Booker the Lion, who made his grand entrance the night of the Pearce Award reception to meet the Eides. In 2016, their generous donation was used to help build the library’s Teen Headquarters. The library was short from the fundraising goal, and thanks to the Eide’s donation, construction was able to start. Teen HQ opened in December 2016 and is for teenagers in sixth through 12th grades. It’s the only space of its kind in Bismarck. Teens use the space for reading, studying, doing homework, working on group projects, playing games, attending teen events, being creative, and more.

In 2017, the Eides gave another generous donation that led to the funding of three mobile device charging stations, new chairs for the Children’s Library balcony, educational tablet devices for use in the Children’s Library, Booker the Lion, and an Easter rabbit costume for special Easter storytime events. In 2018, Kathy and Orville gave a donation to be used for replacing the well-usedmushroom stools in the Children’s Library, replacement furniture in our large print area, Santa and Mrs. Claus outfits for special Christmas story time events, and photography backdrops. This will allow all families to get a photo with Santa and the Easter rabbit without having to pay for a photo package (because not every family can afford to do that.)

Thank you, Kathy and Orville, for all that you’ve done for the library!