INKOM — After decades of satisfying their reading itch through the use of a bookmobile, Inkom residents will soon have a full-service library to visit thanks to a $500,000 grant from the Idaho Commission for Libraries.

Board members of the South Bannock Library District, community members including Mayor Max Shaffer and former mayor Joel Jolley and State Librarian Stephanie Bailey-White of the ICFL attended the check presentation last week at the future location of the new library, celebrating a decades-long effort to bring one to the area.

“This is a really, really great thing for us to experience getting this check,” said Marcy Price, who has been director of the South Bannock Library District for 30 years. “It takes the dream we’ve had getting a library building here in Inkom and it moves it onto the fast track which we’re so excited for. We started out many years ago trying to get a spot.”

The district was one of 39 libraries across the state that applied for grant funding, which amounted to $13 million combined in requests, explained Bailey-White. The district was one of 15 that received a grant and one of two that will use the funds to construct a new library branch.

“This is the first time we’ve been able to award construction grants in this amount, and it’s a big deal,” said Bailey-White. “(They’re) one-time federal treasury funds they use for construction for community centers and libraries. ... It’s a great thing and it was very competitive.”

Price expressed gratitude for all those who have strived towards bringing a library to the area, including David and Leila Cornwall, who donated private land that the library district was able to trade with land belonging to the Marsh Valley School District.

“I think it’s wonderful,” said Leila about the new library. “I know that they do a lot of things at McCammon and other places where there’s libraries, like offer story time for preschoolers and a lot of things people don’t know about. So it’ll be a place where the community can gather to and it’ll just be a really unifying, wonderful thing.”

The library will sit down the road from the elementary school on Holstein Street and offer almost 3,200 square feet of new services. This includes plenty of space for books, but also a programming room, a small room for private learning or telehealth conferences, and a covered patio.

Price explained they’ll be holding a construction bid in November and hope to see it begin development by this spring. Due to stipulations of the grant, the building had a deadline of being mostly completed by August of 2026.

Bringing Inkom’s first-ever library to the town is a career highlight for Price, as well as for her assistant director, Megan Stone.

“It fulfills a commitment I have to the patrons of the library district,” said Price. “I’ve been talking about this my whole time as library director, so I am ecstatic to bring this to the community and to provide the excellent service that we’re able to do everywhere else with our facilities.”

“I’m really excited to have the opportunity to bring a building here and spread the love of reading and education, and (spread) the love of a library and everything they can provide a community,” added Stone. “I’m excited to bring that to Inkom.”

In addition to South Bannock Library District receiving $500,000 for a new library, the Bear Lake County Library District in Montpelier has received $4,900 to update its parking lot and to fix roof drainage issues.