Hallock Library features Historical Heroes section

THIS IS JUST ONE SECTION of the new collection of historical hero books featured at Hallock Public Library.
(Enterprise photo by Anna Jauhola)

MULTIPLE SHELVES hold new books featuring historical figures from the United States and around the world.
(Enterprise photo
by Anna Jauhola)

By Anna Jauhola
Patrons of the Hallock Public Library may notice new books on display in the children’s section, which may be of interest to all ages.
Historical Heroes is something Librarian Peggy Pearson has wanted to do for a long time.
“I was looking at my collection of biographies and history, and it came to me that some of these are so outdated – from the 90s,” she said. “Maybe Paul Revere, for example, isn’t exactly how Paul Revere did his ride. Maybe some of the stuff about Christopher Columbus wasn’t the way he did things.”
She said schools often come to her for books to supplement what they don’t have, or to provide information for different programs.
Each year, students at Kittson Central and Lancaster schools do research projects on historical figures, so updated material was definitely on Pearson’s want list.
“I’ve seen over the years that kids’ heroes change. It always used to be George Washington, or Abraham Lincoln, or Abigail Adams, or Betsy Ross. Now, it’s Simone Biles or Elon Musk, or others,” she said. “I realized I’m totally lacking in diversity.”
She submitted a grant to the Hallock Area Community Fund and received $1,250 to purchase new materials, which the library’s board matched with in-kind donations to provide some new shelving.
A good portion of the north wall of the library is now dedicated to a variety of historical figures. Pearson pointed out she had a hard time finding individual books on duos such as William Clark and Meriwether Lewis, and Orville Wright and Wilbur Wright. But she found them, because kids often come in asking for books on one or the other, but not both.
“I wanted to update these, so when kids ask for them, I have updated and accurate accounts,” she said. “It doesn’t all change, but sometimes history does change.”
She also invested in books about historical events, such as the Shackleton Expedition in the Antarctic, because it provides information that patrons maybe hadn’t heard before. The shelves also feature groupings of books on the United States presidents as well as historical Native American figures like Pocahontas, Sacagawea, Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse. One book covers several stories of people who came to the U.S., called “Extraordinary Immigrants who changed America.” She feels some of the older books glamorize the stories, rather than tell the whole story.
“I want to make sure kids are getting the accurate history,” Pearson said. “The books I have on Paul Revere’s ride never mention that someone else rode with him. A new book about him talks about his life before the ride, and how he had so many kids that he had trouble supporting them all. I just thought, kids should know this!”
Pearson is excited to offer the new books for students who have made her realize the need to update books as they stop in and ask for popular figures like Katherine Johnson, the mathematician who helped put the first U.S. astronauts in space.
These books are already being used, she said, particularly by other libraries in the Northwest Regional Library system whose patrons found them interesting. However, Pearson ensured the books would always return to the Hallock Public Library rather than float around the region.